Powerpuff Love Triangle
by Sinshana
Summary: To succeed a plan the Rowdyruffs enroll into the same school the Powerpuffs are in. But Boomer gets trouble with schoolwork and thinking he’s changed Blossom agrees to tutor him. But Brick is against it, and not just for the plan...
1. Their Spit Defines Their Identity

**Summary:** To succeed a devilish plan, the Rowdyruff Boys enroll into the same school the Powerpuff girls are in. But Boomer gets trouble in his studying, and thinking he's changed, Blossom agrees to tutor him. But Brick, who was against having his brothers and him have any relation with the Powerpuff Girls but being enemies, begins to be jealous. LOVE TRIANGLE Boomer/Blossom/Brick and the two other Powerpuffs included!!

**Disclaimer:** Who the heck told you I owned it?

**A/N: **Hello readers! This is my first PPG fiction, so be gentle, but don't worry; I'm literate . I really hope the summary caught your eye and that you will enjoy this. I hope you do. You may, though, spot some mistakes that I made with the story. I haven't watched the show in a long time, you see, and kind corrections would be much appreciated.

**Chapter 1: **Their Spit Defines Their Identity...

"All right, boys," whispered a voice. Huddled under the shade of a tree were three large-eyed boys. The one speaking was strenuously trying to look serious by pulling his red cap lower over his head, but all the seriousness was causing the two other boys to giggle. They tried biting their tongues to keep themselves from laughing, but they were having a hard time. The redhead stared at them, being and trying to look suspicious as his companions sniggered.

"Cchh… kkk hee hee hee, nggg heh heh heeee…."

"What the heck is the matter?!"

Brick's angry outburst failed to calm down the boys—in fact, he made them go on an on-belly laughter, and soon both boys had tears hanging on the sides of their eyes, Butch clinging to his stomach, and Boomer on his, thumping the ground with his fist.

"Sorry," said Butch, his teary eyes barely open. "It's just that…YOU'RE SO DARN FUNNY!" Butch resumed to laughing.

"Yeah, boss," agreed Boomer with a high voice. Brick was as red as…well, a brick. His arms were folded across his chest and Boomer's comment made him scrunch his eyes tight and make smoke come out of his ears. This was what really made his brothers go absolutely silent and frozen with fear.

"YOU STUPID IDIOTS! I'M TRYING TO TELL YOU SOMETHING OVER HERE! IT'S ABOUT OUR PLAN, AND WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DISCUSSING BEFORE THE POKEY OAKY HIGH—I MEAN THE POKE OAKIES—OR WHATEVER BELL RINGS—"

All the children in the playground had stopped what they were doing and were staring at him like Butch and Boomer were, only the other kids had no idea what he was talking about. The girls, who were inside the school, were fixing up the classroom to start the new school year. Buttercup was looking longingly with a sulky face out the window, watching the kids play. She turned her head toward her sisters, who were feeding the class hamster and watering the flowers on the teacher's desk.

"Why do we—I mean _I _have to do this?" she complained. "You two were the ones who offered to fix up the classroom, not me!"

"Just organize those books, Buttercup," said Blossom calmly, not looking at her. "We won't ask you to help us again next time."

"Yeah, that's for sure!" Bubbles chirped. Buttercup muttered complaints under her breath and continued organizing before hearing Brick's yells outside.

"Hey, did you guys hear something coming from outside? It sounded like someone yelling."

"Oh, we won't fall for that again," her sisters chorused.

When Brick had finished, he immediately covered his mouth in horror, in fear that the other children had found out his plan. But no one had a chance to say anything, because a sound made all the children jump up and stampede toward the school, worse than elephants (and believe me, that is DEADLY!)

_**BRINGG!!**_

"Children," said the teacher's high and feminine voice, "you may already be acquainted with them, but for those who are not, I'd like to introduce Brick, Butch and Boomer Jones."

The Powerpuff Girls' mouths dropped open. The Rowdyruffs! What were they doing in _school_?

"Nothing good, I bet," Buttercup whispered hoarsely.

"What are we going to do?" Bubbles whimpered softly.

"Nothing yet," Blossom said seriously, her pink eyes glued to the three boys who were expressing, what seemed to the girls, evil grins. The rest of the class did not notice, however. They were clapping politely for the new students who they did not recognize JUST because of the changed last name. This aggravated Buttercup so much that she was scowling. Blossom hushed her and gave Bubbles reassuring gestures.

"These boys were not the ones you have known since kindergarten," the teacher went on, "but I am sure that you will all get acquainted with them soon, just as you have all met each other in kindergarten (she says that when in a situation like this, even if the children don't get along at all)." She turned to the boys beside her. They became as innocent looking as could be. "Why don't you three sit at the bench behind the Utonium girls? I'm sure you have heard of the Powerpuff Girls. It's easy to get along with them. They might even save your life someday!" (The boys unnoticeably rolled their eyes at this) "Now, Buttercup, Blossom, Bubbles; will you please raise you hands to guide your new classmates to their seats?"

The girls obeyed. Buttercup grudgingly, Blossom willingly, and Bubbles reluctantly. The boys marched over to their seats, and the girls felt a shudder as they passed. It seemed like the boys had intentionally done that. _But that's impossible…_

Blossom, thoughtless with shock, looked back and saw that Brick was sniggering evilly at her, staying behind. Then he joined his brothers. Blossom's face gradually produced a deep frown, but she had to turn to her front when the teacher started talking again.

"All right class, my name is Miss—"

"AH!"

Their teacher raised their eyebrows at the interruption and looked over her sea of students to look at Bubbles, whose blue eyes were now teary. "What's wrong, Bubbles?" her teacher asked.

Bubbles slowly shook her head, her mouth concealed by her hands.

The teacher was patient and gentle with her. It was only the first time, and you couldn't get that angry at a teary-eyed Bubbles. "Oh… okay, Bubbles. But next time this happens, I can trust you that you have a reason to tell me. All right?" Bubbles nodded, her hands not moving from her mouth and stared down at the desk.

"What happened, Bubbles?" Blossom whispered to her as the teacher talked.

Her hands quaky, she removed them from her mouth. "A spitball," she faltered.

"What?"

Bubbles wiped her tears and whispered louder, "A spitball. One of the Jones boys hit me with a spitball."

Buttercup's eyes widened. "I knew it!" she whispered. "The Rowdyruffs are probably here to torture us during class and attack us during lunch after we survive recess!"

"Buttercup! Not so loud," Blossom hissed. "You're just overreacting. And Bubbles," she said gentler, "maybe you've just imagined it. Maybe your fear got the better of you. Maybe something else touched you—ACK!"

The teacher raised her eyebrow exasperatedly when she saw it was one of the Powerpuffs. "What is it, Blossom?" she wanted to know. Blossom was rubbing the back of her head glaringly, but immediately stopped when was asked a question by the teacher. "It was the Jones boys, teacher," she said. "They are throwing spitballs at us. That's what hit Bubbles."

The teacher looked at the three boys, but they looked innocent and did not seem to be hiding anything behind their backs or under their desks. She shook her head. "You must have just imagined it, Blossom," she said firmly. "Now, let us continue the lesson…"

"Now who's imagining things?" Buttercup whispered teasingly to her redheaded sister. (I don't know why people call hair red when it's actually orange, or why they call hair gray when it's actually white) "Oh, Blossom, maybe fear got the better of you—OW!"

This time the teacher couldn't handle it. "Buttercup!" she said severely. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"It was those guys!" Buttercup said angrily, pointing her arm at the boys behind her, looking innocent.

"I will not tolerate with your false accusations!" the teacher said, not bother to even look at the boys. "There will be no further disturbances after this or it's detention for you and the rest of your sisters!"

"No!" Blossom cried, jumping up. She couldn't bear to have detention on her first day of the school year!

"Or would you rather the principal's office?" the teacher said harshly. Blossom shook her head silently and sat back down on her seat. Buttercup scowled but sat down, as well. They made sure they stayed silent for the rest of the lesson, but it didn't help that the boys continued shooting hard-coming spitballs at them, leaving the girls with the struggle to suppress grunts and moans.

When the bell rang, the boys were the first ones to speed out of the classrooms. Blossom and Bubbles stood up slowly, wanting to go to the girl's bathroom to aid their aching heads, but Buttercup stood up determinedly. This made Blossom forget her headache for a minute.

"Buttercup, what are you doing?!"

"I haven't done anything yet," Buttercup said, and turned back to her front, her arms crossed, "but those boys sure are going to do _something!_"

**--End Chapter--**

**A/N: **To help me to continue and for you to enjoy it more, please review and give out comments and corrections. No romance yet, but there will be soon, and I liked how the chapter went. Thanks for reading my first PPG fiction!


	2. A No Fighting Pact

**A/N, Don't Bother Reading: **I started typing this chapter before I even received any reviews because I enjoyed this story very much. I haven't gotten any corrections yet, so I hope it's good enough.

**Chapter 2: **A No Fighting Pact (I make the dumbest chapter titles -.-)

"Wait! Buttercup! Buttercup!" Blossom called, jogging after her sister, who was walking out the classroom door. Bubbles trailed behind her, her hands over her mouth. "Where are you going?"

"Where do you think I'm going?" Buttercup snapped, shaking off her sister's hold on her arm. "I'm going to take a breath of fresh air—and maybe knock the air out of the Rowdyruffs while I'm at it!"

"Buttercup!" Blossom scolded. "You're going to get us into trouble!" Blossom was being dragged now, and her tracks were forming marks on the ground.

"We're going to get in even bigger trouble if we don't do something soon," Buttercup breathed, then she stopped and faced her sister. "Well? What do you want to do? Risk your school record or risk your life?"

Blossom froze at that question, then she shook her head swiftly and looked at Buttercup. "We're _not_ going to have to risk our lives," she said firmly, slowly and clearly, as if not only reassuring Buttercup but herself as well. Then her eyes flashed open. "Come on," she said, tugging at her sister's arm. "It's our break time. And we should rest."

"Yeah," Bubbles agreed. "And rinse our head while we're at it. Mine is so sore…"

Buttercup, who was about to agree and take a rest, just a _rest_, began to have fire in her eyes again. "We won't have to rinse them, Bubbles," she said. "Cause we're going to drown those boys in—"

"BUTTERCUP!" Blossom hollered, and, unlike Butch, Buttercup shut her mouth and didn't wait for Blossom to become as red as a tomato and have smoke coming out of her invisible ears.

Blossom and Bubbles forced Buttercup to the hallway, going to the girl's bathroom. They were going down later to eat.

-

The three boys were once again under that tree. Butch and Boomer were both giggling and nudging each other in triumph of what they had done, and for a moment Brick looked happy too, but then he frowned and folded his arms. He stood in front of his brothers, taking advantage of their sitting position. Butch went silent, even if he knew that Brick did look a little silly, but Boomer just raised his arm for a high five.

"Whoo! What we did was wicked; boss! That was so cool! And plus, the Powerpuffs could get in trouble! Awright!"

But Brick only glared at him. "Do you realize, you dimwitted… dimwitted… dimwitted _dimwit_ that this could seriously damage our reputation?"

The two blinked. Boomer had no idea what the word 'reputation', let alone 'dimwitted'. Butch was the one who broke the silence. "So?"

"_**So**_," said Brick severely, "this could disrupt our plan!" The two gasped.

"I'm not sure what 'disrupt' means," Boomer whimpered, "but it sure sounds scary!"

Brick rolled his eyes. "It means _ruin_, you moron!"

"Oh."

"Well, what are we going to do now, boss?" Butch asked, changing the subject.

Brick hung his head and kept a serious face. "We are going to apologize."

After he said that, a brief silence passed over them before they exploded into a burst of protests and complaints.

"WHAAAAAAAAAT??"

"But I don't know how to pronounce the word 'sorry'!"

"You just said it, idiot!"

"Er—I can only pronounce it once a day!"

"I WILL NOT apologize!!"

"WHY?"

"I'm not used to apologizing!"

"I can only say 'sorry' once a week—I mean year!"

"YOU JUST SAID IT AGAIN TWICE TODAY!"

"Er…"

"Ha! At least I don't make lousy excuses. Boomer makes lousy excuses, right? But not ol' Butch, no sirreeeeee… that's a good excuse, right?"

"**THAT'S ENOUGH!" **Brick bellowed, silencing his bickering, lousy-excuse-making brothers. He was almost ashamed to be related to them. Brick panted like an angry bull ready to lunge, and then shouted, "WE ARE GOING TO APOLOGIZE AND WE ARE GOING TO DO IT FOR THE SAKE OF OUR PLAN! IF YOU DON'T DO IT, BOOMER, I'M GONNA RIP APART THOSE DOLLS YOU LIKE PLAYING WITH SO MUCH!"

"Noooo!" Boomer wailed. "And they are NOT dolls!"

"I don't care! And you, Butch, I'm gonna throw those nursery-rhymes CD that you keep listening to into the flames!"

"Noooo!" Butch cried. "And they are NOT nursery rhymes!"

"Then why do they rhyme?"

"Because they're SONGS! Songs are supposed to rhyme at parts!"

"Whatever! So are you going to do it or not?"

His brothers hung their heads. Then, reluctantly, they said, "We'll do it."

"Right," said Brick, grinning evilly. "Then all we have to do is find those little Powerpuffs."

_**BRINGG!!**_

They weren't very quick, however.

-

Lunchtime came and the Powerpuffs were in a good mood. The boys this time hadn't thrown any spitballs at them during class (they worked very hard not to!) and the girls had forgotten all about them. The girls were just talking about volleyball, a sport Buttercup wanted to take as they looked for a nice place to eat. The three Rowdyruffs, meanwhile, were hiding behind a plant, watching them.

"All right, boys," Brick said. "Lunchtime is all the time we have. Those Powerpuffs are in good moods, so everything's perfect. It'll be easy for them to forgive us."

The girls began to exit the cafeteria with some other students, carrying their lunches to eat at the school grounds.

"All right, boys! Let's follow them!" But Boomer was left behind, apparently in a daze.

"BOOMER!"

"Oh—all right!" and he sped off with his brothers.

-

"Oh…so the volleyball doesn't really hurt your hands when you hit it?" Bubbles asked her sister as they eat beneath a shady tree. She bit onto her lunch, leaving traces on her pale cheeks.

"Not really, Bubbles," Blossom replied. "The ball was made soft enough for the players so they don't get hand injuries. It may hurt some people though, who are not qualified." (I've never played volleyball before!!)

"But who cares if it hurt, anyway?" Buttercup said casually, her legs crossed and her cheeks spread with crumbs. "That would be half the fun!"

"Buttercup," said Blossom seriously, "I'm glad that you're getting into a sport, but please don't overdo it, all right? With your powers, you may hurt the other players…"

"Yeah, yeah," said Buttercup, taking a large bite of her food. Then, with her mouth full she said, "It wouwldent be fwun wiff ouwa powahs anyway, cheeyting wouwld be no fwun at awll." Then she gave her food a tremendous gulp. "Ah, that's better." She patted her tummy and leaned against the tree. Bubbles gave her sister a wary look before giving the same look at her food.

"Hey, you three! The Utoniums! The Powerpuffs!"

The girls' heads shot up. Buttercup, with a faint frown on her face, looked up leisurely to see who had disturbed her nap. It was none other than then the Rowdyruffs! This aroused Buttercup and she jumped up, placing on a fighting stance. Bubbles was so shocked that she completely froze. Blossom nearly spat out the food still in her mouth, but stopped herself halfway and gulped the remaining food molecules down (is that possible?). Then she wiped her cheek and glared at them. "What do you want?" she asked harshly, looking polite and distinguished.

"They want trouble, that's what they want," said Buttercup, her fists ready. "Well? Give us all you've got! We're going to make your heads ache so much that you won't ever want to see a—"

"We," Butch cut in, "came here to apologize."

Buttercup was taken by surprise. "W-what?" she managed to croak.

"Yes," said Butch, enjoying the shocked expression on her face. "We wanted to apologize for the spitballs we had thrown at you during first period."

"Yeah," said Boomer, making Bubbles unfreeze. "When we heard that you guys—I mean girls risked going to detention, we felt sorry. I guess we guys just wanted a little action and didn't know how to use a playground."

"We want to apologize," said Brick, watching Blossom's widening eyes and agape mouth expression "and extend a hand towards acquaintance to you girls. Enough fighting. We'll just settle down and get our education. So? How about it? A no more fighting pact. Leader to leader. Eh, Blossom?"

Blossom stood up.

"Are you sure about this?" her sister whispered.

Blossom closed her eyes. "Well, I think so. For now."

Then she opened her eyes, walked over to Brick, and placed her hand in Brick's. Then she smiled radiantly, not noticing the devilish smirks the boys had produced for a short time.

**--End Chapter--**

**A/N: **Yay! While I was typing, I got my first review! Keep them coming please.


	3. Volleyball Play

**Annoying A/N: **There's some Boomer/Blossom in here, all right, so I hope you don't mind.

**Chapter 3: **Mean Volleyball Play

"Woohoo! Yeah! Look at them go!" Buttercup cheered from the sidelines. Blossom grinned at her sisters, who were obviously enjoying the volleyball players do their game. Bubbles was at the edge of her seat. Buttercup wasn't even sitting on hers. She was leaning over so much that a train of people would have already been trying to haul her back if she were any other normal girl. But she wasn't. She was a Powerpuff.

Blossom leaned back and reached into her backpack for her Science magazine. Watching the volleyball game was fun and exciting, but she felt that sensation all the same when reading, and the magazine was just aching to be read.

_**PONK!**_

Blossom automatically looked up to see what had caused the noise. Bubbles looked shocked, and Buttercup looked furious. "Who the heck did that and interrupted the game?!" she demanded angrily. At the court, one of the players was hit on the back by an extra volleyball, and failed to strike the ball she was currently playing with, making it hit her on the head as she fell. The rest of the players rushed to her side. One of the players on her side caught sight of the ball that had hit her fellow playmate. She picked it up. "Who threw this ball?!" she demanded angrily.

Some snickers were heard and all heads faced to the side. Three boys emerged.

"I'm sorry," Brick said sarcastically, "but you girls were playing so lousily, hopping around like a clown imitating a chicken, that I thought my brothers and I would give you girls a lesson in volleyball…or should I say dodge ball!" Brick immediately took the ball he held under his arm and threw it at the girls; his brothers followed his action simultaneously. Then they dragged a net from behind them, containing different balls used for different sports, and began throwing them at the girls, with twice much as power as any normal person. The girls shrieked and tried to escape, but they had trouble since the balls were flying at them so fast. It was unbelievable—except for three girls.

"Augh!" Buttercup growled. "I knew it would be no good to trust them! Come on, girls, let's give _them _a lesson in playing volleyball!"

Bubbles stood up, thinking that it was time for them to fight. But Blossom stayed in her seat, a scowl set on her face.

"Hey! Blossom!" Buttercup shook her sister vigorously on the shoulder. "We're all angry. Now let's go and fight!"

Blossom held up a hand in front of Buttercup's face. "A leader," she said, "must have a sense of responsibility and always keep their pacts and promises. Let me handle this first, girls." And with that, she walked calmly and seriously down toward the boys, who were laughing in triumph.

"Ahem?" Blossom said, getting their attention. The boys gradually stopped laughing.

"What?"

Blossom coughed and tried to look distinguished. "I would like to remind you boys of the pact we made," she said. Then she raised her eyebrow. "Have you forgotten that we've all agreed to no fighting?"

"Sure," Brick replied casually. "No fighting. But boys will be boys. We want to have fun! After all, having a little fun isn't a crime, is it?" he smiled slyly at the girls as his brothers snickered.

Blossom couldn't argue. Her classmate, Mitch, came into her mind. Yes. Boys will be boys. It was a normal state. She couldn't change the way of maturity…

Blossom, with her head low, began to turn around and walk away, leaving the boys to their triumph. Her sisters jogged behind her.

"Blossom! Blossom! Wait!" Bubbles cried, trying to keep up with her. "Where are you going?"

"Yeah!" said Buttercup. "What the heck do you think you're doing? What about the pact? Why did you just leave with that lousy excuse?" Buttercup grabbed her sister's shoulder, but Blossom shook her off.

"Look," she said firmly. "We can't change the way young boys act. It's the way of maturity. We can't change that. Remember Mitch? Isn't _he _an immature troublemaker? Yet we never whisked him into jail for that. All we can do is report them to the teacher if things get too severe." Blossom continued walking.

Bubbles sighed. Buttercup groaned and gave in. "Well, now I _wish _they would do something mean! But reporting to the teacher seems so tattletale-ish… Oh well. They could get in trouble anyway."

"I don't think they're that stupid, though, Buttercup," said Blossom.

-

When lunchtime came, the Powerpuff Girls finished their food quickly and went to the court to watch the volleyball players play their game. But when they arrived, the players were not playing, but were huddled together. Their number had lessened.

"Hey, what's happening?" Bubbles blinked.

"Why aren't they playing?" Buttercup wanted to know.

"Hmm…. Something's wrong," Blossom said. "Let's get down there and find out." The Powerpuff Girls strolled over to the volleyball players and asked them why weren't they playing. One of the girls looked mournfully at them.

"We don't have enough players to play," she explained. "We're discussing what we should do for our next game. We really need new members! We'd do anything…well almost everything… but a lot. Yeah, we'd do a lot for new members"

The girls perked up. "Hey, we could join your team!" Bubbles said. "We're freshmen."

The players blinked at their sudden offer. "Have you guys ever played volleyball before?"

"We did a little at the beach," Blossom reasoned.

"Yeah!" Buttercup added. "Doesn't look like it's hard anyway." The players grinned in delight. "All right! We'll just practice a bit to see how you guys do."

Sure enough, the girls were able to achieve the seniors' satisfaction, as well as awe.

"Well, you couldn't expect more from the Powerpuff Girls," one of the players commented respectively.

"Actually, we're not using our powers," Blossom responded. "It wouldn't be any fun…"

"Then you guys must be naturals!" a girl with braces exclaimed. "You guys are amazing!" Blossom and Bubbles blushed with pleasure. Buttercup looked proud and full of pride as she placed her chin in the air and her fists at her sides.

"Hey! You girls looking for a little fun?"

The Powerpuffs turned their heads at the source of the voice, while the players backed away and cowered in fear. It was the Rowdyruffs!

"What are you guys doing here?" Buttercup demanded angrily.

"We could ask you the same question," Brick said coolly. He raised his eyebrows at Blossom, who was holding the volleyball under her arm. "Hm? Are you girls gonna hop around like chicken-imitating clowns with these grandmas?"

The seniors blushed angrily. "What's it to you?!" one of them dared to ask, then backed out quickly in shock and fear as Brick took a step forward.

"Oh, nothing," he said. Then he grinned maliciously. "Except that we can have a little bit more fun!" His brothers quickly pulled out the sack of different balls, and began to throw, with lightning speed, at the girls. Some began to escape, but the Powerpuffs began to strike the balls back at them.

"Come on, girls!" Blossom called out. "Let's play VOLLEYBALL!"

This angered the Rowdyruffs and they began to throw the balls at them. But the girls had regained their confidence and began joining the Powerpuffs and striking the balls. A whole female volleyball team against three boys gave the Rowdyruffs the disadvantage, and later, began to retreat. The volleyball players, including the Powerpuffs, pumped their fists in the air and cheered.

"You haven't seen the last of us!" Brick said, turning away.

-

The Rowdyruffs skipped class, staying outside, eating the lunches that they did not consume earlier. This was due to their little volleyball fun. The boys were laughing in triumph, not caring that their mouths were full of food.

"But boss, what about our plan?" Boomer questioned when they've calmed down slightly. "Will this affect it? What about our reputation?"

"Aw, who cares now?" Brick asked. "Because of our pact, we can have as much fun as we want. We should've made that pact before we started hurling spitballs at them."

Boomer's brothers started to get into a laughing fit again, and though Boomer didn't know why, he joined in. He laughed so loud and so maniacally that his brothers stopped and stared at him laughing for a while. Finally, Butch whacked him over the head.

"Hey! What was that for?" Boomer said painfully, rubbing his head.

"You were being stupid again."

-

It was class time and the Rowdyruffs were making a lot of noise behind the Powerpuffs, hindering their intentions in listening to the teacher, who could not hear the boys because they were in the back of the classroom. The girls tried to ignore them, twitching with anger and struggle. The teacher was giving them a very important assignment that they needed to do so they could pass the test that they needed to do that week.

"Children," the teacher said good-temperedly, "I would like to remind you of the test you need to pass this week." Groans and complaints rose to the ceiling, and the teacher tried to hush them.

"Whaaaaaat?"

"But it's just the starting of the school year!"

"We haven't studied that well yet!"

"Now, children," said the teacher, "you may be wondering why you need to take a test at the beginning of the school year—"

"Hell, yeah!" (Can you guess who spoke? ;)

The teacher tapped the table angrily. "I will not tolerate rude words and interruptions in my class!" she warned. "Now, my reason for this is because our staff has sensed some trouble going on, and we want to test your qualifications. Please, erm, _bear with us._ If you do not pass this test then—" she hesitated, then widened her eyes and quickly stopped herself. Then she continued, "…well, you'll just have to find out. Now, the coverage of this test…"

The rest of the day went on with the whole class listening intently. Some wondered what trouble might have been going on and why the teacher just suddenly stopped the subject of what would happen if someone did not pass, but there were some boys who did not wonder nor listen. Can you guess who they are? This is too easy… the Rowdyruffs!

Brick, with one leg over his knee, was boredly rolling a pencil on the table. Butch was well, snoring. And Boomer? He was certainly not wondering, listening, bored, or sleepy. He was intent. Yeah. You'll never guess what he was so intent about. Shall I tell you? All right, it was a Powerpuff!

Well…not entirely. It was her hair. Oh, and not Bubbles' sweet pigtails. Yes, you're bound to know it now. Boomer would never stare at Buttercup's black broom of hair. It was Blossom's hair. And not just any hair.

It was the hair that brushed through her arms and shoulders, gently rippling whenever she moved her head. It was the hair that reminded Boomer of autumn leaves that he used to have so much fun jumping into, only to have his brother haul him out, scolding him all the while . It was the hair that gave Boomer a relaxed yet queasy feeling in the abdomen, making him droop his eyes. It was the hair that was tied neatly together by a silk red ribbon. It made Boomer want to get up and yank it out, so that he could see the full beauty of the red waves.

"Boomer… Boomer!"

"Huh—wha?"

"Come on, dude," said Butch, who was flinging his bag over his shoulder. "It's dismissal."

Looking around, Boomer saw that the rest of his classmates were also picking up their bags and gathering their books. "Um… er, right," he said, getting up. "What was I doing, anyway?"

"Being stupid."

**End Chapter**

**A/N, Not So Unimportant!! **You may have noticed here that I made the Powerpuffs say they were freshmen. Weeeeellll, I'm making them older to get this story to work. I am now editing the ages in all of the chapters. Please forgive and thanks for reading!!


	4. A Fraught Tutor

Annoying A/N: The truth is, I'm not really sure myself why the teacher has to suddenly give a big test

**Annoying A/N: **The truth is, I'm not really sure myself why the teacher has to suddenly give a big test. Please review and give me some ideas! Oh, and Powerpuff Girls Z will be available in my country this May 2008!! Yay!

**Chapter 4: **A Fraught Tutor

Blossom lay on her stomach, leafing through her English textbook. Bubbles was sitting on the edge of the bed, doing the same thing. Buttercup, meanwhile, was on the floor, leaning against the bed's side. They were all in Blossom's pink room, studying for the test that was soon to come. All of a sudden, Buttercup gave a large groan and the textbook she was holding so closely to her face fell to her lap. "Ugh! Why do we have to do this, anyway?" she complained. "My brain's going to explode from memorizing all this stupid stuff. Why do I have to study a bunch of light bulbs?!"

Blossom looked over Buttercup's shoulder. Ohhh….you're studying the parallel and series circuits. Well, Buttercup, the parallel circuit has all the walls in it, and the series circuit has all the light bulbs on one wall. In a series circuit, all the bulbs will react to the same switch, and the parallel circuit… um… how do I put this simply? Ah, the bulb at the meeting point will react."

"Ohhh…" said Buttercup, understanding. But then she frowned. "And according to the book, the phrase becomes 'the undercurrent is alienated at the junction'?"

Blossom sighed. "You've just got to get used to these words, Buttercup."

"Well, it's Science, not English! How is anyone able to translate every single word they read?"

"Bubbles and I can," replied Blossom haughtily.

"Um… Blossom?" Bubbles whispered as she nudged her sister, but Buttercup still heard her. She pointed at the history book she was reading. "What doe this word mean? …Um… sup… sup…"

"Superannuable!" Blossom corrected exasperatedly as Buttercup pointed and jumped at her. "See! See! See! Told ya so!"

But soon, they gradually sank to the floor. "How are we going to pass now?" Bubbles moaned hopelessly.

"We'll manage somehow," Blossom wearily encouraged. "I can help you…"

Immediately, her sisters groped at her waist. "THANK YOU, BLOSSOM!!"

-

Meanwhile, the Rowdyruffs were in a (rather tattered, and untidy stated) bed, almost the exact same position as the Powerpuff Girls, except they hadn't any textbooks in front of the faces.

In fact, they were playing with toys. Brick was holding a red car while moving it back and forth, saying, "Zoooooomm". Boomer was playing with a yoyo, giving it a reaction of delight whenever it reached the top. Butch played with a top. He was winding it around with a string, preparing for the spin, his tongue sticking out in concentration.

"Wooohhooo!" he yelled in success. Then as it slowly came to a stop, he groaned, "Aww…" Then he began to string it around, once again, his tongue sticking out.

Boomer's yoyo failed to get up again, and he moaned in sadness. Then he, like Butch, began to string it around. Brick's car fell off the bed, and his face collapsed flat onto the mattress. "I'm. So. Bored!" he declared, rolling over onto his back. His two other brothers imitated him, dropping their toys and collapsing onto their backs. "Totally!" they agreed.

"So what should we do?" Boomer asked unthinkingly. His brothers would, as usual, yell at him for asking something he should've known they didn't know and was currently wondering about. But lucky for Boomer, his brother had an idea, causing a smirk to appear on his face.

-

"WOOOHHOOO!! YEAH!! THIS IS GREAT!! HAHAHAHA!! WOOOOH…"

The three boys were at the dump. They had been bouncing up and down on the goop for hours, and the sky was already quite dark. The three, for the first time since they started, stopped bouncing and just froze with their faces on the goop.

"Are we having fun yet?"

"No."

"We should've gone with the plan of annoying the Powerpuff Girls instead."

"Cut me some slack, Butch."

The Day of the Big Test (which's purpose is unknown unless you review about it wink wink Okay, I'd better stop; it's getting long)

"I'm freaking nervous," Buttercup confessed roughly to her sister as they entered the classroom. "Do you think I'll remember everything?"

"I don't think I'll ever pass anything," Bubbles whined, her head low.

"Oh, lighten up, girls!" said Blossom exasperatedly. "Just remember all those things I've told you about the light bulbs." This succeeded in making her sisters smile, so they all, in good spirits, entered the classroom, wherein some students had dread on their faces. This, however, did not affect the Powerpuff Girls.

Among the students who were calm because they had well prepared, were the Rowdyruffs, although they had not even read one word. The students then returned to their seats as their teacher handed out the papers, all the while saying words of encouragement. The Rowdyruffs paid no attention, and scribbled guesses onto their papers.

The day was quick for some when lunch came, and the girls spread out on their usual spot, chatting about the test.

"Well… it was a bit easier than I expected," Bubbles admitted timidly.

"It was a piece of cake!" Buttercup abruptly confessed openly.

"Told ya so," said Blossom smugly. "Just remember the bulbs—"

"_Hey, _girls."

The Powerpuffs looked up and a look of disgust crossed their faces. They leaped to their feet and placed on a fighting stance. "The Rowdyruffs!" they cried. "What do you want?!" Blossom demanded.

"Now, now," said Brick calmly, walking toward Blossom. "What about our pact?" His hands had slid casually into his pockets, and the closer he got to them, the farther they backed out. But because Blossom was in the middle, she felt her back touch the wall of the tree trunk. Blossom quickly hid her fear by protesting, "It was you who slid out of our pact, you fraud!"

"I never did," said Brick. "Don't you go accusing me." His face was only a breath away, and Blossom thanked the heavens he was just her height. Blossom knew very well that Brick was younger than she was. This helped her regain her confidence somewhat. But before she could retort, an elderly voice called, "Boomer! Boomer Jones! Yes, you can bring your brothers, too. I think I need a talk with all of you."

Brick growled and the girls sighed in relief as they turned away. Bubbles looked at her sister. "Are you okay, Blossom?"

"Yeah. I'm all right," said Blossom faintly. She concentrated on regaining her breath.

Buttercup's knuckles rested on her hips as she triumphantly watched the boys disappearing into the building. "Hey, Bloss, do you think they saw what he was doing? Okay, maybe she might've been too far, but don't you think this could be the 'boys-getting-in-trouble' thing we were waiting for?"

Blossom stared at the horizon. "I hope so," she replied half-heartedly.

-

"Hey, what do you think they're calling us for?" Boomer shared whispers with his brothers as they followed the teacher.

"Promoting us, maybe?" Butch whispered back

"Naw, she called Boomer single-handedly. Maybe she saw him being stupid and is gonna punish him," said Brick.

Boomer was angry and embarrassed. "Then why did he call you two then?" he argued.

"She's going to promote _us_."

But before Boomer could retort, they had arrived at their empty classroom. The woman took a seat behind her desk and waited for the boys to take the seats in front of her. Then she said, "Boomer, Brick and Butch Jones. I have called you here for a discussion regarding your test. I am not pleased with you answers, either. Brick, your answer is not legible. Is this Molecules or Nucleus?"

Brick looked at his answer. He knew very well he had written neither, but he replied, "Nucleus."

"Well, then you get the passing score!" said the teacher joyfully. She then turned to Butch. "You seem to have inherited your bad penmanship. Is this super or sunder?"

Butch had the same situation as Brick had. "Sunder," he replied.

"Correct!" the teacher cried. She then looked at Boomer. He was in a good mood. He expected the teacher to say he had the same situation, and he knew he'd just say the second choice, as his brothers had. Typical Boomer.

But instead of saying what he though she would say, she said, "Boomer, your answers are bold and sure, and I'm sorry to say you have gotten ten out of one fifty. This is dreadful. Luckily, I have talked it over with the staff, and they've agreed to give you time. You will be taking a make-up test, and I advise you to study well after that. A tutor, I would say. Now, bring the next boy in."

To the boys' surprise, Mitch entered the classroom. He wasn't their classmate, and he was in another section, but they figured that he and his classmates had also taken the test. "Yeah?" he said.

"You may leave now, Mr. Jones, Mr. Jones and Mr. Jones."

The Rowdyruffs obeyed, but they stayed from behind the door to hear what the teacher would say: "Mitch, you have gotten nine over one fifty on the test, and you are therefore expelled."

Butch and Brick were snickering as they left that spot. "Can you believe how close you were to getting expelled, Boomer?" Brick laughed.

"Forget that," said Butch, crookedly suppressing his chuckles, "I bet the teachers couldn't wait to get rid of Mitch, even if he had gotten a hundred!"

But Boomer didn't hear them, no matter how many people jumped when they heard how loud they were laughing. Boomer didn't want to get expelled. He had to get super-smart, super fast. A tutor, his teacher said. But where could he find someone smart enough to tutor him?

And then it cracked. A dry leaf fell before him, and he stepped on it, creating a crackly sound. "_Blossom,_" he whispered inwardly.

But he couldn't let his brothers know of his 'betrayal'. He had to do it while he was alone.

Night painted across the sky as the boys walked home. His brothers were still laughing constantly, the intensity never dropping, as if a joke had just been told that very second. Boomer looked up, and nudged his brothers.

"Hey, you guys go on. I… I think I lost something in the dump."

His brothers struggled to laugh and reply at the same time. "A… all right… heeheehee… but… don't… hehe… expect us to help look for it with you! HAHAHAHAHA!" And with that, they continued on their way. Boomer made sure they were out of sight before he started heading toward the dreaded destination: The Powerpuff Girls' House.

**End of Chapter**

**Annoying A/N: **I found that exceedingly short, but I decided it was going to get too long if I had connected this chapter with the next, so I decided against it. Just tell me if you thought it was too short and I'll try to lengthen my chapters!


	5. Different Hearts

Chapter 5:

**Annoying A/N: **Why does it seem to me that the story is getting more boring the more chapters there are? 

**Chapter 5: **

Boomer thought it was rude to suddenly barge through their window, so he landed on the mat in front of their door. He shuffled his feet nervously as he waited for someone to attend to his rather light knock.

"Who's at the door?"

"I don't know, _why don't you get up and see,_ Buttercup?" said a voice, which sounded like Blossom through gritted teeth.

"I don't wanna. Make Bubbles get it."

"Okay!" chirped a cheery voice. "Coming!" Boomer heard thumping of feet getting louder and louder, until the door burst open and the blonde in front of him nearly collapsed, making him back out. She giggled, not noticing first who was at the door. "Sorry. I tripped."

Boomer blushed and glanced at his feet. Bubbles stared at him, a wide-eyed look on her face. For a long while they just stood there, Bubbles staring at him and Boomer staring at his shoes. Neither of them spoke until a husky voice interrupted them.

"Bubbles, what the heck is taking you so long? If I break another plate, it'll be on purpose!"

"Buttercup, hush up," said a more feminine, mature voice. "There's someone at the door."

"Well then, Bubbles, who the hell is it?!"

"I…it's…" Bubbles stuttered and couldn't finish her sentence. How could she tell her sisters there was a Rowdyruff at the door? She looked up and stared at Boomer again. He was shuffling his feet, and his head bent low. He had a pink, embarrassed tinge on his cheeks, and he looked completely innocent to any mischief. In fact, he looked actually… shy… and sort of scared?

"BUBBLES!" the rough voice of her green sister interrupted her thoughts.

"Coming!" Bubbles roughly called back. She looked at her counterpart, smiled, and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked shocked and jumped back. "Don't worry," she assured him and opened the door wider. "Come in."

She led the boy to the kitchen, skipping on the way while he followed her slowly, his eyes still on the floor and his hands in his pockets. Bubbles hopped into the kitchen. "Here I am!" she called cheerfully.

"Finally," said Buttercup, placing a plate back into its rack. "What took you so long, anyway? And who knocked? If it was some waylay…"

"It wasn't," Bubbles replied. "He's here."

And Boomer had finally entered the kitchen. His position the exact same one he used when he first entered their doorstep. Buttercup went agape, and she dropped the plate she was returning.

"Buttercup!" Blossom yelled, for the first time she lifted her head from the sink, where she was washing dishes. "If you drop another plate I'm going to… to…" her words had trailed off because her eyes finally laid upon her youngest sister's counterpart. "B-Boomer? What are you doing here?" she looked around and leaned to the side to look behind him. "…and without your brothers?"

Boomer blushed deeply as he lifted his head to look at his oldest brother's counterpart. "B-Blossom… could I talk to you?" he shot a nervous glance at the scowling Buttercup, who had her arms folded. "And… alone?"

"Well… sure, Boomer," she said reluctantly, jumping smoothly off the small pedestal she was standing on to reach the tall sink, and followed Boomer into the living room.

"I bet the other stinky Rowdyruffs are hiding somewhere," Buttercup said as soon as they left the room, whipping her head around. "They're gonna take on Blossom, thinking that if they finish off the leader, we'll be even easier to beat. But they're _dead_ wrong. If they defeat Blossom, I'm gonna be so mad and use their bodies as sacrifices on her grave. Then who else is gonna take my turn on the dishes?" The thought made her head throb with anger, and she rolled up her sleeves and started marching toward the living room.

"Wait!" Bubbles grabbed her sister's arm, stopping her from forwarding. "Look… I have faith in Boomer. Try to trust him a bit, all right? Didn't you see how shy he was when he got in here? Maybe he was shy about doing something _good. _He possibly couldn't be all shy and scared to do something mischievous. Right?"

Buttercup gave a small growl, closed her eyes, pulled her arm away from her young sister, and gave in. "All right," she said. "But I'll be keeping my eye on them."

_**Them.**__ The word made Blossom and Boomer sound… together, I think…? _Bubbles thought, her lids getting lower and her head drooping. The thought made her feel depressed. But she didn't know why. Bubbles vigorously shook her head. _Wait… what am I thinking? Blossom would never like a Rowdyruff… but then again, he did change. I should be happy for Blossom. But…?_

Bubbles didn't know whether she felt good or bad about the possibility or the impossibility. Bubbles couldn't get herself to ignore it, but at last, something made her snap out of it, making Bubbles slightly, _slightly, _grateful for her green sister.

"Hey, Bubbles, take over the dishes now, won't ya?"

-

"Well?" Blossom plopped onto the couch, and invited him to sit as well, which he reluctantly accepted. "What have you come to talk about?"

Boomer twiddled his thumbs for a few seconds before lifting his head to answer. "Well… er… I was just wondering… would you… please…" Boomer cleared his throat. It was one of those rare times that he said 'please'. "…t-tutor me?"

Blossom blinked. She was leaning against on of the couch's arms, her cheek pressed against her knuckles. "Huh?"

Boomer slowly began to explain his bad score, the teacher's suggestion, and his idea. "So… will you?" he asked timidly.

Blossom smiled. "Well…only if I have an eager student," she replied. Boomer grinned happily and there was a slight perk in his movement after she said it.

"Yes!"

-

It was late and Boomer had only a few minor study things he did with Blossom. He flew home in a good mood, and he tiptoed over the room, careful not to wake his brothers.

Then in a split second, the light was turned on, and his brothers surrounded him, angry looks on their faces. Boomer smiled meekly, shrugging.

"Boomer," Brick said fiercely, searching over his body. "Where's that thing you were looking for in the dump?"

"Yeah," agreed Butch, in the same expression their oldest brother was. "And why are you so clean?"

Boomer was stuck in a tight spot. "Um…" he said, "I… I didn't really look in the dump." That was his only answer toward Butch's question.

"Then why did you tell us that you went to the dump?" Brick demanded.

"B-because…" Boomer's eyes widened as he came up with an answer. "…I lost it somewhere so clean that you guys would get disgusted. So to save your pathetic intestines, I didn't tell you."

"Then what about what you were looking for?" Brick demanded, his arms folded.

"…It was so clean that I had to get out of there before long," replied Boomer. His answer finally accepted, his brothers collapsed back into bed. Boomer was glad they didn't ask what clean place it was. He reckoned that they didn't even want to know.

The next day at school, Boomer excused himself from his brothers. He had spotted Blossom in the crowd, and wanted to talk to her. Ignoring his brother's confused and suspicious looks, he ran into the group and headed to where his brothers couldn't see him.

"Boomer!" said Blossom as she saw the blond running towards her.

"Hi," he said, slightly breathless. He didn't want to fly, otherwise his brothers would see him. "When is our next study session?"

Blossom smiled amusedly. "I've never seen a boy so eager to study," she commented. "Anyway, you can come anytime you're free. I've already discussed it with the professor."

Boomer grinned broadly. "Thanks!" he turned away to look for his brothers, making up his mind to come that night. As Blossom and Buttercup started to talk, Bubbles stared after him as he disappeared into the sea of students. Her eyes shone with a tinge of sadness that nobody noticed.

-

"Ugh, Boomer!" Brick yelled. "Get back here! We have to discuss our…" But it was too late. Boomer was too far away too hear him. It was lunch and Boomer had excused himself once again to approach Blossom.

Brick growled as he looked at the place his youngest brother had disappeared. "Sometimes, I ask myself if he's hiding something," he muttered under his breath.

"Well, if he's got something to hide, then leave him at it," Butch said lazily. "I don't want to hear any more of his imaginary friend the duck. The freak, coming from a wiser mouth. That thing sounded to me like a yellow creature crossed with a grizzly bear and a zebra…"

But Brick wasn't listening whole-heartedly to his green brother. He wasn't tearing his sight away from that sight. And until Boomer came back, he didn't plan to.

-

"Hey, is it all right if I eat with you guys?" Boomer asked Blossom. They were right where he knew they would be, under the tree.

"That's just fine with me," said Blossom, "but what about your brothers?"

Boomer took a seat beside her as he rolled his eyes. "I hate eating with them. All they do is complain." He chomped onto his greenish-bluish stuffed burger.

"I'm not surprised," said Buttercup. Everyone stared at her, and not because her mouth was full and sputtering. It was because it was the first time she spoke heartily to Boomer. "They're lives are pretty pathetic. Hey, maybe you can eat with us everyday. You could tell us about them, like…"

Boomer smiled and his eyes twinkled at her invitation. "Like the time Brick threw a tomato on Butch's face thinking it was a ball? Butch tried to feed him poison. That would be great, but not everyday. My brothers would get suspicious."

"Oh, that reminds me, Boomer," said Blossom, "what did you tell your brothers when you visited us yesterday?"

"Oh, I told them that I went to look for something in a place so clean that they wouldn't be able to handle it for long," replied Boomer.

"And they didn't even bother to find out what clean place that was?" When Boomer nodded, she exclaimed, "Wow."

Several more subjects came after that, and none of them sensed the presence of someone watching them with blood red eyes.

However, the watcher said nothing and continued watching his brother. started getting ideas where the 'clean' place Boomer always went to was, and whilst he thought, the Powerpuffs became more and more accustomed to Boomer's presence.

That night, Boomer started to climb out the window.

"Where are you going _now, _Boomer?" Brick questioned, arms folded.

"I'm going to try looking for it in the clean place again," Boomer replied, and before his oldest brother could ask another question, he flew off.

"Huh, leave him alone, boss," said Butch, removing his socks. "Now, what was the next part of the plan, again? I keep forgetting what we're actually supposed to do." (So do I, Butch!!)

Brick narrowed his eyes. "We're not going with the plan until we find out where our little brother is heading off to," he muttered, more to himself than Butch.

-

"Oh hey, Boomer!" Blossom said cheerfully when he knocked at her door. "I'm answering the door this time. I knew you'd come. Now, get inside." Boomer, with a smile, followed her into the living room where she had three books spread out. "Now… where should we start?" she wondered as she opened the history book containing the word, 'superannuable'.

"The bulbs," Buttercup whispered to her as she walked by, holding a heavy pile of dirty laundry in her hands.

"Oh! The bulbs!" Blossom piped. She picked up the Science book and flipped through the pages. "Now where is that…"

Boomer was sitting on the couch opposite her, and decided to approach her to see what she was looking her. But klutzy Boomer tripped on the carpet and fell forward—on top of Blossom.

It was a rather odd position. Blossom sank lower because of the uneasiness and had her hair sprawled behind her. She was holding the science book in her hands, and the History book fell to the floor in a heap. Boomer's arms were on either side of her. Their legs were tangled with each other. Both had their eyes wide and were completely frozen. Bubbles, who was passing them, had her mouth agape in horror. She dropped the pile of clean, folded laundry in her hands and ran, an arm covering her sobbing face.

"Bubbles!"

**End of Chapter **

**Annoying A/N: **…


	6. Heart Pounding Feelings

Chapter 6:

**Annoying Announcement: **It's getting harder for me to make these fictions funny every passing chapter. You see, I felt like if there was a prize for the most Romance/Humor fictions, then I'd have a great chance of winning it. I'm dropping out, though. I might replace the 'Humor' genre. Should I? And what genre? General? Let me know in a review!

**Chapter 6:**

"Bubbles! Come back! What's wrong?" Ripping her away from under Boomer, she jumped up and fled to the bedroom.

Bubbles didn't entirely know why she was crying out of the blue. She just saw Boomer and her older sister, and suddenly a large pain in her chest closed her air pipe, and then her legs out of a sudden started bursting with energy, and she couldn't stop them from running away to the bedroom. Now here she was, hugging her knees, sobbing her painful heart out.

_Bam. _The door burst open and shut again. Bubbles felt Blossom's body envelope her crouching body in a hug. "Bubbles, what's wrong? What happened? Are you hurt?"

Well, in a way, Bubbles was hurt internally. In the heart, she was. Her heart was crushed and Bubbles could feel her chest grow smaller because her heart was broken, crushed, and rolled with that roller thingy bakers use to flatten dough.

Then the door burst open once again and there was Buttercup, she had obviously heard Bubbles crying. She kneeled beside her sisters. "What the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure," Blossom replied. "Let's not try to make her speak for a while."

"Okay…" said Buttercup. "But what're we gonna do about the Blondie downstairs?" This only succeeded in making Bubbles cry harder, so Blossom had to heighten her voice's volume to reply.

"Tell him to come next time," Blossom called. "As he can see, we're a bit busy…"

Buttercup nodded and went down the stairs to pass the message. He was sitting on the couch. Buttercup could see that he had found the right page and was silently studying it, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Hey, Blondie," Buttercup called out. When he looked up, she said, "As you can see, we're a bit busy, so Blossom says you should get out of this hellhole and come back tomorrow." Boomer nodded understandingly and flew back home.

Boomer arrived and started to silently climb in through the window. He then crept silently onto his bed, and pulled the covers over himself. Butch stirred, and Boomer let out a shudder. Had he awoken? Boomer craned his neck slightly.

No. He had just given a tremendous snore. Sighing in relief, Boomer hit the sack and fell fast asleep. Almost immediately, he began to snore like a kitten.

But what he really needed to worry about was the one that was most silent…

Brick stared at his brother in the darkness, frowning.

-

"Teacher, may I please be excused?" Blossom politely raised her hand, explaining that she needed to go to the bathroom.

"All right, Blossom," the teacher granted, giving her a hall pass. Boomer watched Blossom leave the room. "So, turning back to this equation—"

"Teacher, can I be excused?" Boomer asked crudely, his arms high in the air. The teacher blinked from the sudden interruption, and stammered out her permission. Boomer sped out of the classroom in top speed, causing the teacher to spin, and when she had finally stopped, her glasses were lopsided, her position was crooked, and her clothes were disheveled. The students giggled so she rapped for their attention, but there was one who was neither noisy nor paying attention. And he was staring out the door.

"Blossom! Blossom!"

The redhead blinked and stopped to turn around, giving the blond time to catch up. He started to pant, his hands on his knees. "Blossom, I was wondering," he said, lifting his head, "if I could go to your house tomorrow? I found out that the make-up test is on Friday next week."

Blossom smiled faintly. "We'll see," she said. "I'll have to check if everything is okay with Bubbles first. But I really hope you pass."

Boomer was slightly disappointed with her answer, but lit up at her last sentence. "Oh, I will, with your help."

Blossom smiled, and silence began to stretch between them. Boomer didn't break it, all he could do was smile and stare at the beauty of the redhead before him, whose smile was gradually fading away.

"Um… well, I guess I gotta go now," she said timidly, "'cause in case you didn't hear what I said earlier, I need to go to the bathroom."  
"Oh, oh right!" said Boomer, his cheeks turning pink with embarrassment. "Um… I guess I'll let you leave now."

Blossom nodded awkwardly and left. Boomer watched after her until she disappeared into the corner. Then he snapped into reality. _Oh great, _Boomer thought, scratching his head. _What do I do now? I came out here to talk to Blossom. And now she's gone. _He lifted his head and looked over his shoulder. _I guess I should be going back to the classroom now…_

"Hey you! Do you have a hall pass?" I don't use hall passes, so I'm just guessing this

_Crap! _Boomer thought, jumping. He rummaged through his clothes to find it, only to realize that he had left the classroom so fast he wasn't given a hall pass! An idea coming to his mind, he started patting the pockets of his black pants. "Um, now where is it?" he said, hoping for the monitor's mercy.

"You're not slipping that easy," said the voice. Boomer, who was less surprised this time, found the voice familiar. He lifted his head and saw who it was. "Brick!" he yelled incredulously. "You're the hall monitor?!" he was shocked to find that his brother would do such a goody-two-shoes job.

"No," said Brick. "But I can bust you anytime for not having a hall pass."

"Aw, come on!" Boomer pleaded. "It was an accident! I forgot all about having a hall pass."

"So?"

"I'm your brother!"

"So?"

Boomer sighed. He knew Brick wouldn't be convinced with an excuse like that. "Please," he begged. "I'll pay you back really good for this one!"

Brick pondered. This was his kind of persuasion. Still, he would've said 'no/so' if he hadn't thought of something to pay Boomer back with. Brick smirked maliciously. "All right," he said. "Go on. I won't tell the teacher anything."

Boomer gave his oldest brother a squeak of gratitude and sped off for his classroom. Brick watched him leave.

"See ya, Boomie," Brick said under his breath. "You'll soon find out what I know."

"What are you talking about?"

Raising an eyebrow, Brick looked over his shoulder to find his counterpart standing there, fists clenched at her sides, and a hard look on her face. Brick smirked, and turned to face her. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Blossom was still frowning. "You know perfectly well what I'm talking. The question is, what were _you _talking about?"

This only caused Brick to grin even more devilishly. "Oh now, is Ms. Utonium worrying about what little Brick says? Could she possibly be _interested _in him?"

The way he said it made Blossom gasp in anger. Brick sneered in satisfaction and left her standing there. _You'll pay, _Brick thought as he walked away. _You'll pay, as well as Boomer, for capturing my brother's heart. _

But after this thought, Brick didn't like the plan at all. A queasy feeling was swimming in his stomach, making its way to the supposed place his heart was.

Meanwhile, Blossom was still standing at that same area, glowering. "Ooh, that boy makes me feel sick!" she growled, then her eyes snapped wide open and she clutched her bladder. "All right—I just need to go to the bathroom again!" and with that, she sped off.

-

"Bubbles," Blossom said as they gathered their things, "Will you be okay enough for Boomer to come later tonight?"

Bubbles felt like she was under pressure, and when her sister said that, she thought that she had already known slightly about her feelings. But Bubbles snapped out of it, remembering her sisters' innocence.

"Um—it's all right, I'm going out tonight anyway," said Bubbles unthinkingly, then hastily covered her mouth. Going out tonight?

"Where're you going?" Buttercup asked, swinging a bag over her shoulder.

"Um—somewhere," said Bubbles, acting nonchalant. She made up her mind to take a walk around Townsville. "None of your business."

Buttercup rolled her eyes and said nothing about it. Blossom, on the other hand, thought it was great news. "That's good! Boomer can come over, then."

Bubbles felt her heart breaking. She wouldn't get to see Boomer, Blossom would, and she felt perfectly happy about it. But what made her heart bleed the most was that Boomer probably like her too. But wait, why was Bubbles acting this way? Why couldn't she feel happy for her sister? Bubbles made up her mind to temporarily let herself think that she was feeling that way because her sister was dating a Rowdyruff, and would think it out later that night, if she could handle it.

"I'll tell Boomer the news," Blossom said cheerfully, getting up. Bubbles tried not to look at her as she left. Buttercup stared at her blond sister, obviously noticing her weird behavior. She, however, did not say anything.

"Boomer! Boomer!"

Boomer's brothers were heading out the door. Boomer had once again been left behind, and was just sipping up his backpack when he heard Blossom's call. He looked up and Blossom stopped in front of him. "You can come over tonight," she declared. "Bubbles'll be going somewhere tonight, so it's okay…"

Boomer's face brightened. "That's great—!"

"BOOMER! Are you comin' ova here er not?" his brother called out. He had obviously not heard what he and Blossom were talking about.

"Oh—coming!" Boomer gave Blossom a tiny wave and rushed after his brothers.

-

That night, Boomer once again gave his brothers a quick slip and went off to visit the Powerpuff Girls' house. He landed on the doormat and confidently lifted his knuckles to knock on the door. But before he could do so, the door burst open and there was Bubbles.

Boomer couldn't think of a single word. He had never spoken with his counterpart before. Maybe he did when he first showed up at their door, but what did he say? What did she?

_Bubbles stuttered and couldn't finish her sentence. How could she tell her sisters there was a Rowdyruff at the door? She looked up and stared at Boomer again. He was shuffling his feet, and his head bent low. He had a pink, embarrassed tinge on his cheeks, and he looked completely innocent to any mischief. In fact, he looked actually… shy… and sort of scared?_

"_BUBBLES!" the rough voice of her green sister interrupted her thoughts. "Coming!" Bubbles roughly called back. She looked at her counterpart, smiled, and tapped him on the shoulder. He looked shocked and jumped back. "Don't worry," she assured him and opened the door wider. "Come in."_

Boomer lifted his head slightly to examine his blonde counterpart. He felt somehow that he wanted to strike up a conversation with her. She was still looking at her sandals, hands behind her back. He didn't know why, but it was actually the first time he had ever noticed her, wanted her to notice him, and _liked _it. He certainly didn't know why at all. Boomer lifted his head all the way and looked steadily at Bubbles.

"H-hey," he stammered. "Er…"

"…Yeah," she said. "Um… how're you?"

"Great… you have any plans tonight? Blossom told me…"

Bubbles could feel all the air being sucked from her chest again. Boomer was mentioning Blossom. "Um, I've got to go," she said, looking away.

"Huh? Oh, right… but—"

Boomer was cut off when Bubbles pushed past him and ran off, trying her best to not let her eyes be seen. Boomer was about to run after her, but he stopped himself. His chest felt empty. The blue color in his eyes became dull, and his body was numb. He might have never moved from that spot until Bubbles came back if Blossom hadn't chosen that exact time to creak the door open and call out his name.

"Boomer?"

It was all so sudden. When he heard Blossom's soft voice utter his name made his heart beat, then get louder and harder every passing second. He turned around to look at her, and he thought that his ribcage would break. The pounding was almost completely painful, and it was rising to his throat, making it hard for him to breath. He opened his mouth, but no words came out. Blossom just stared at him. (It's actually a funny sight from Blossom's view XD)

"Um, Boomer?" she said again when he didn't answer after watching all this. "Do you want to come inside now?"

"U-um, yeah," he managed to croak. Blossom smiled, faintly because of his earlier behavior, turned around and walked into the house. Boomer shot one look over his shoulder before following the girl whom made his heart pound so hard.

When he entered, Boomer was still not looking straight ahead. He was still debating his feelings on why his heart would pound for both Bubbles and Blossom. Blossom cheerfully made her way over to the couch where the books were, almost skipping. She looked up if Boomer was sharing the same enthusiasm and said, "Boomer?"

This knocked all the thoughts from his head. His head up, trying not to blush. "Huh?"

"Are you ready?" she gave him a friendly smile.

He smiled back, and his cheeks turned pale again. "Yup!"

They had an ordinary and uneventful lesson, so Boomer was able to learn much (especially about bulbs! ;). They finished when it was nearly midnight, and when Boomer said goodbye, he decided to take his time on going home.

Boomer decided to walk halfway, and started to enjoy the brightly-shining stars. He was looking up the whole time, and saw a shooting star. He reminisced on the time he and his brothers tried to catch it to have an unlimited supply of wishes, but failed.

Boomer continued to look at the star as it shot right ahead of him. Then his eyes lit up and saw the moon. It was full. Boomer felt supremely happy, and stood still, staring at it.

After sometime, Boomer found that the moon was shining more brightly on a particular figure below it. Boomer's blue eyes followed the ray, and saw that it had laid upon a huddled figure. Boomer approached it, and squinted his eyes. He saw that it had a smooth tuft of pale, glimmering hair. He looked closer.

It was Bubbles.

**End Chapter**

_**Annoying A/N: **Mwahaha, another cliff! THIS QUESTION SHALL BE IMPORTANT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER: Should Boomer and Bubbles kiss or not? Yes, shocking that I thought of it, I know, I bet all those Boomer and Bubbles fans are screaming right now. Anyway, even if they do kiss, they still will not be together so as not to disrupt the plot and suspense. . Anyway, if they don't, a blue love moment shall still be there to replace it. Anyway, go on, vote what you want to happen in the next chapter! _


	7. The True Reason

Annoying A/N: I have a feeling that this chapter is going to be awfully different

**Annoying A/N: **I am SO sorry for the late update! A typhoon (the highest signal) practically struck the whole province and stripped it of electricity.

**Chapter 7: **

--Boomer's POV--

Oh gosh, what to do, what to do? Well, what would you do if it were the dead of night, your brothers murderously waiting for you at home; you stop to look at the freaking moon and there you see your counterpart under it, motionless, and not to mention, you just had a scene with her?! A very awkward one, I say.

So I just stood, frozen there for a while, staring at the sight before me. She wasn't as frightening as I thought she could be. She was crouching, and her face was buried in her arms and knees, but despite her position, I could still recognize my counterpart. In fact, you would have thought she was an angel, the moon almost purposely shining down on her like that.

I shook my head. What am I doing, just looking at her and contemplating? That's stupid. I've got to wake her up. Well, if she's asleep. I can't just leave her here.

After I reached her, I bended a little and touched her shoulder. "Hey, hey, wake up. You can't stay here all night. Hey…"

That was when she wearily lifted her head.

And I froze.

It was like a gazillion stars whacked me over the head, left me dizzy, and got me struck by lightning. As I gradually gained my composure, Bubbles, who was looking tired, stared at me like all those things I felt happened _did _happen. Without thinking, I blurted out, "Was I hit by lightning?"

I thought that maybe even the moon was jeering at me. Talkin' about stupid! But I suddenly stopped silently cursing to the heavenly bodies when I happened to look at Bubbles. She was giggling, almost completely covering her mouth. I guess covering their mouths was what people did when they didn't want to seem like they were laughing _at _someone. Still, even when they're covering their mouth, the fact that they're laughing is still visible. Maybe they don't know. Or it's just a habit. Or they're all stinking hypocrites. Who knows?

Anyway, back to my current situation, what we're talking about right now is not about hypocrites who don't take a bath, but about the reason why I stopped swearing just at the sight of giggly Bubbles. Well, do you wanna know? DO YOU WANNA KNOW?

Well, of course you want to know. It is a natural human ability to wanna know stuffs that you don't know, particularly if you don't need to know. Like the day I was surfing on the net and there was this "Don't Click Me" link, and in tinier letters below it said, "Whatever you do, do not…"

And what do you think I did? I clicked it of course. Hell, it could've said "I could be a virus… be careful; you have been warned" and I still would've clicked it. You know what happened? I ended up getting a mouthful of dirty, offensive messages and of course, a virus. Brick was pissed; it was, after all, _his _computer that we shared. But I got the most beatings and scolding from Butch. I think he was looking at some porn on the net. I _did _hear some giggling in the room whenever it was his turn…

But anyway, why are we drifting off to another subject again?! Crud, it's probably because it's my P.O. V. Ugh.

All right, all right. Wanna know? Oh no, not that question again. Let's get straight to the point. The reason I stopped swearing just because my counterpart on the ground under the stars who I just happened to come upon because of the damn-freaking moon was because she was giggling, and looked real pretty doing it.

Pretty? No. Cut. So not.

Because the bounds her beauty was beyond words.

So what do you think I did next? No, don't answer. I don't want your opinion. Well, you probably wouldn't've answered anyway. What I did was crouch, crouch low so that our faces were inches a part. Most probably out of my mind, I grinned. The miracles of miracles happened. She grinned back.

Suddenly, her eyelids started drooping, and her face got closer. I followed suit, my eyes narrowing slowly at the sight of her small, soft lips. Those tantalizing lips…

Who knows what would've happened if I suddenly stopped, a bit of my mind coming back. Or maybe not, because the next stupid thing I said was, "What time is it?"

Looking like she had no idea where she was or what she was doing, she dumbly glanced at her blue-banded watch, which she happened to bring along. "Um… twelve twenty..."

"Holy guacamole!" I yelled a word I used to struggle to pronounce, thinking nothing but the looks on my _brothers'_ faces when _they_ didn't see me return until so late… or maybe only one brother…

Brick had been really keen on me lately. I'm not sure why. Well anyway, I'm not gonna start ranting all over about my experiences with him so I'm just gonna say what I did. I sprung up on the spot, flying full speed home.

Not thinking about what Bubbles would have to do with me gone.

--NORMAL POV--

"Uh… Boomer?"

These words she uttered, blinking comically. She then shrugged, smiling. "Oh well." She stared down at her watch. "I'd better get home then…"

HOME!

The professor would absolutely kill her! What about her curfew?! She was hours late! Leaping up, she crouched a bit to get ready to take off in the sky. Two blue streaks passed over Townsville.

Sometimes the people you know can completely make you forget about the people you're with, even if they _very_ special people.

--

Boomer quietly climbed out of the window and tiptoed to his bed. He wasn't in the mood to double-check his surroundings, lifted the blanket and sank onto his pillow.

And then a figure came out of the shadows of his red brother's bed. His figure created a shadow of his youngest brother's body. "Sleep well, blue." He narrowed his eyes. "You still owe me for the computer."

--

"I'm going out to look for the thing again!" Boomer declared the next night, a foot already on the windowsill.

"_Again_?" said Butch, frowning at his brother. "Damn, Boom, you're terrible at looking for things!"

Boomer was insulted at his green brother's comment so he stopped to talk back. "Hey—you're the one who lost all your socks when they were all on your hair!"

"I have only one sock!"

"How did it get on your head?!"

"SHEESH, WILL YOU TWO SHAAAAAAT AAAAPPP?!" Brick yelled. "I'm _trying _to live over here!"

Boomer shook his head and sped out of the window. Butch growled after him. "One of these days I'm gonna leave that window closed…" Suddenly, a yawn escaped from his mouth. "Hmmm… well, time to hit the hay." A loud _thump _was heard as Butch collapsed full speed on the bed and immediately began snoring. Brick, however, did not shake his head this time. He gave the night sky a steady glance, then flew out the window.

_If I'm right, then Boomer northwest, straight into the cloud at my left, but judging by the wind tonight he must've gone here, _Brick thought as he soared through the night sky. His senses were correct. A blue streak soon came into view. _Where is he going? _

Boomer stopped in front of a familiar house. Brick's red eyes widened. _Why, this is the Powerpuffs' house! _He thought. _What could he be doing? _

Brick hung in the air, hidden from his brother's view in the dark. Brick watched his brother as he reached for the doorknob. However, he stopped and looked around. Brick quickly sank deeper into the dark. Boomer scratched his mass of messy yellow hair, shrugged, and then knocked on the door. Brick's eyes widened as his counterpart welcomed him inside, and Boomer, without hesitation, entered. Then the door shut behind them.

Growling, Brick swooped down to peep through the window. Boomer was there in the living room with Blossom, books stacked around them. Brick watched as Blossom picked up what looked like a history textbook, then sat closely beside Boomer and started talking. Brick couldn't hear anything behind the window, but he was pretty sure that she was giving a lecture.

Brick's upper stomach wrenched as Boomer leaned forward to see what Blossom was pointing at in the book. Their bodies were so incredibly close, and they didn't even notice! The things studying can do to you!

Brick let out a growl and shook his head, fighting the urge to bang the window broken. He turned around, looking away from the scene. _I've seen enough. Boomer's a traitor. _Still, as Brick looked back, the only one he was looking at was the happy look on his counterpart's face.

Blossom…

--

Boomer stood, weak-kneed in front of the door. It was the day. The day he had worried so much for. The day he stayed up to go to the Powerpuffs' home for. The day he lied so much to his brothers for, not that he cared about that. But it was the day he had to take his makeup test!!

"Ah, Mr. Boomer Jojo," the teacher said. "Your paper is on the table. Please take your seat and maintain silence. You will put down your pencil in approximately…"

But Boomer was no longer listening. He stared down at the paper, clutching his pencil tightly in his right hand. The letters looked jumbled in his eyes. Then a knocking against glass, filled his ears, and Boomer looked up. There, behind the window, was Blossom Utonium, waving at him with a smile. She gave him a thumbs-up, and Boomer responded the same way. He looked down at his paper. It started looking clearer. Then, in the speed of light, starting writing his answers down. He got up to pass his paper to the teacher, who was still talking.

"…so if an emergency happens to appear, then I beg you not to say that fate of the world is lying on your shoulders because that's what they say when they return their library books l—huh? You're finished? Er… all right." Looking slightly harassed, the teacher took the paper from him and started checking it over. "Oh my goodness," she said suddenly and showed it to him. "Is this word 'nuclear bomb', or 'poop'?"

"Er… poop," said Boomer nervously. The teacher's eyes widened.

"Why, that is correct! Congratulations, Mr. Boomer Jojo! You have gotten an even higher score than that of your brothers!"

Boomer yelled in triumph and grabbed his teacher's hands, twirling her about the room. The teacher, not really understanding, danced and sang with him. Boomer then realized he was dancing with an old lady so he dropped her to the floor and, still yelling with triumph, ran out the door.

"Woo…" said the teacher faintly, collecting herself. "You forgot to maintain silence!"

-

Boomer ran outside, and spotted the girls waiting for him. His eyes, however, were on Blossom. "Blossom, BLOSSOM!" he shouted. "I PASSED!"

"Oh my goodness—Boomer! You passed?!" she cried, and they both ran to each other. Boomer enveloped the redhead in a hug, and she returned it, both of them laughing with joy. Bubbles stared at them, hollow-eyed, but the real attention was on Brick, who suddenly burst out of the small crowd. The sight was too much for him.

"That is _it_,Boomer!" he shouted, his eyes holding fire. "YOU'RE GOING TO PAY!"

"Wha—what?" Boomer said, confused. Then seeing Blossom still tightly in his arms, quickly let her go. "Look, bro, it's not what you think—"

"I KNOW MORE THAN YOU REALIZE," shouted Brick. The thing was, however, was that he wasn't as angry as he was when he thought of Boomer a traitor. All it took was the sight of his counterpart in the arms of somebody else to rocket him off. He wasn't sure of this yet. All he knew was that he was very, very, angry and that Boomer was the reason. The reason for betraying him… betraying him on something he should've known.

"SO GET READY TRAITOR, YOU'RE IN FOR A BEATING OF A LIFETIME!"

Brick started running so fast that only a blurry red could be seen. Everyone was watching in awe now, as Brick ran straight to attack his brother…for stealing the one he truly loved.

--

A/N: I'm so sorry for the short chapter and the long update! Unfortunately, I'm going to have to disappear again because of school. I'm so dreadfully sorry.


	8. What He Was Really Looking For

A/N: Chapters do not reach satisfaction

**A/N: **Chapters do not reach satisfaction.

**Recap: **_Brick started running so fast that only a blurry red could be seen. Everyone was watching in awe now, as Brick ran straight to attack his brother…for stealing the one he truly loved._

**Chapter 8: **What He Was Really Looking For

Groaning out a large war cry, Brick lunged toward his brother, who was not fast enough to escape. The two Rowdyruffs collided, making a great ball that zinged with incredible speed, finally slamming onto the concrete wall of the school that shook the building. Breathing heavily, the two paused as the surrounding cleared. Boomer was leaning against the wall, bent over toward his stomach, which his older brother had attacked.

The blond let out a small moan as he tried to get up, but failed. Brick, meanwhile, who had his hands on either side of Boomer, looked up, having regained his energy. And then the fire in his eyes inflamed as the sight of his youngest brother was reflected in his eyes. Without a second thought, he started making strikes at Boomer's abdomen.

"Augh!" Boomer grunted.

"Oh yeah, you think that hurts?" Brick scoffed sharply. "Well then you deserve it, you useless bag of crap, you filthy traitor, you disgusting, unreliable, fake—"

"Stop it!"

Brick turned his head sharply towards the noise, and saw that it was his counterpart that had spoken. Her pink eyes were shining, threatening to slide down her bottom eyelid, and her lip quivered. Still, even with these expressions, the pink Puff looked indignant. Brick felt himself squirm at Blossom's disapproval, but managed to control himself.

"What did you say you little…" he paused for a few seconds as he struggled to choose a name to call her, "…whore?"

The redhead's eyes widened. "What did you call me?!" she cried. 'Whore', a term for a slut who wears showy clothes and likes being touched _that _way, was highly insulting to a girl like Blossom.

"A whore," said Brick, glad that he had distressed her, "that's right. You heard me, whore. What are you going to do, take your top off and jump into someone's lap?"

Blossom was simply red with rage. "Where did you get that from?" she yelled.

Brick struggled to his feet, swayed a bit, and then, clenching his fists, approached the girl. "Oh, don't you try hiding it," he sneered. "You're just a little slut, aren't you, attracting others to get what you want, for your own malicious needs… for… breaking hearts…" his voice turned coarse as he uttered the last three words.

Blossom raised an eyebrow, not hearing what he said clearly. "What?"

Brick was frustrated. He was practically confessing here, and now all she can say is complain of her bad hearing! "Shut up!" he yelled, and made a lunge for her, intentions set on punching her across the face.

Something white flashed… and everyone blinked to see what had happened. Boomer's back faced Blossom, his arms stretched at his sides, sporting a cut bruise. He glowered at the shocked redhead in front of him, who had never known Boomer able to do such a thing, especially to look as threatening as he did, to his own brother. "Don't. You. Dare. Hurt. Her," he snarled, saying the words with difficulty.

For five seconds, they stayed in this position, wearing the same expressions. But Brick's face soon formed into a frown. "Oh… so you're defending her, now are you?" he spat. "And I just thought you had bad taste… what's so great about that scum ball anyway?"

Brick knew well that Blossom was not great. In fact, she was fantastic, amazing, awesome, mesmerizing… and yet he still did not know why. Brick had said the question in a slightly curious and inquisitive way, more than he said them demandingly. Boomer the idiot though, did not seem to tell.

"What's so great?" Boomer repeated, gritting his teeth. "Where should I start?! Oh, all right, first of all, she's not a hypocrite. She believes in second chances. She is not only smart, but also wise! She taught me the difference between smart and wise, by the way… Anyhow, she taught me things I never knew I could be taught, and gave me hope, and alongside that, happiness! She helped me pass the exam, Brick, and to think! I just asked her to tutor me so we could get along with the plan!"

"What plan?" Blossom asked, blinking from behind Boomer.

"Uh… nothing." He turned back to face his brother. "The thing is, dear brother, I don't think I'd like to go along with that stupid plan of yours! Hell, I'm not even sure what it is! Blossom welcomed me into her home with open arms, with not the slightest prejudice! Ah, she taught me that word, too… so what mean, Brick, is the fact that though you are counterparts, you are nothing alike! You just saw me with them, and you blew your top off. She saw me with _you, _and I'm surprised that she didn't barf all over the ground!"

There was a silence, as Boomer paused, breathing heavily after his long speech. He had never done that sort of thing before.

"B-but, you lied to us," said Brick lamely. "Saying you were looking for something you lost in some really unimaginative place. You should be disgusted with _yourself, _lying to your own brothers—"

"It was _worth it,_" Boomer cut in. "And you may be right about one thing for the first time in your life, Brick. I _should _be disgusted with myself. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!" he paused to catch his breath.

"What are you saying?" Brick asked, narrowing his eyes.

"What I'm _saying_…" Boomer panted, "…is that I am simply quitting."

That took all of Boomer's breath away. He fell back toward Blossom, who cried out, "Boomer!"

Her sisters immediately came over to help. Blossom instructed them to place him on her back. The complied, giving her concerned looks. After that, Bubbles and Buttercup stood up, ready to leave. But Blossom didn't move yet. She gave Brick a dirty look.

"Boomer wasn't looking for something he lost," she said firmly, "he was looking for something he never had."

And with that, Blossom ushered Buttercup to stop giving him dirty looks, and took off into the sky. Slowly, the crowd began to suspend.

Leaving the boy, who had been yelled at by his one true love, all alone.

-

"What are we going to do now?" Bubbles questioned softly as they soared above the buildings.

"We're going home to get him checked by the professor," her redheaded sister replied. "He got knocked out by himself, and with all the punches Brick struck at him, I doubt he'd be okay so easily…"

"Why'd you stop me earlier, Blossom?" Buttercup demanded. "I wanted to give that brother of a jerk a taste of his own medicine!"

Blossom shook her head. "I would have liked to, as well," she answered. "But I doubt that Boomer would have liked that."

Buttercup gave her sister a highly confused look, but she was staring ahead, looking deep in thought. Then the girls glided downward, leaving green, blue and pink streaks in the sky. Three streaks that slowly faded…

-

Meanwhile, Butch and Brick were in their rundown apartment room, Brick pacing back and forth.

"I don't believe this, I don't believe this, I don't believe this," Brick was muttering. "How could he quit? I may know why, but the thoughts are perplexed in my intellect… Butch, what do you think?!" he suddenly shouted. Butch looked at him, shocked.

"Wow, Brick… didn't know you knew German…"

"_**UGH!**_" Brick grunted, throwing his arms in the air. He then shot them back into their original position, crossed behind him, then continued pacing, mumbling.

"Er… or maybe it could be Portuguese," said Butch thoughtfully, looking at his brother. "Or Chinese?"

Brick grunted irately again, then went on.

"Hey! Don't say I know any other language 'sides English, which I is havin' bad gramma' fer, too!" Butch argued, apparently guessing what his brother had been mumbling. "I know Turkish, see? OGGLE, OGGLE, OGGLE! Oh come on, could you talk louder? I haven't cleaned my ears in like…" he blinked thoughtfully, "since I was born…"

"OH WILL YOU JUST SHUT YOUR MOUTH?!" Brick yelled. "I'M TRYING TO FIND OUT WHAT TO DO ABOUT BOOMER!" And with that, he went on pacing.

"Humph, you didn't have to say it so loud," said Butch. "Well… I always knew he was lying… (No he didn't) But he most probably is in love with that dumb puff…"

_Crack. _"What did you say?!" Brick demanded.

"Geez, bro, I think that hole you made with that crack was from all your dancing…"

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?" Brick shouted, ignoring his brother's last line.

"I said you kept dancing so—"

"NOT THAT LINE! THE OTHER ONE!"

"Oh, er, I said I always knew he was lying." He started to look proud of himself. Brick looked like he was about to explode.

"YOU SAID THAT BOOMER WAS IN LOVE WITH BLOSSOM," he yelled.

"Er—well not that necessarily, 'cause—"

"SO IF HE WAS IN LOVE WITH HER, HE'D BE AT HER HOUSE, RIGHT?"

"Well, she most probably brought him there…I guess…"

"THEN THAT MEANS—" Brick was cut off when the floorboard suddenly made a mighty crack, causing him to fall through. Butch leaned over and cupped his hand over one ear to hear his yells.

"I told ya so!"

-

"Goodness gracious, girls! What happened?"

Blossom laid the blonde Rowdyruff on her bed. "He's been in a fight with Brick," she explained. "It's a long story. I'll tell you when his needs are met." Blossom looked at Boomer, telling the professor that the 'he' was the boy on the bed.

Understandingly, the professor leaned over and pulled Boomer's shirt up, examining his bruises. He then looked up to scrutinize the cut bruise on his face. "Internal bleeding," said the professor at last. "It's not serious, but he'll have to be examined by a doctor. I'll bring something up to clean him with."

"I'll come with you," Blossom said seriously.

"Weeeellll, I don't wanna stay in this oppressed room," said Buttercup, flexing her arms.

"All right, then. Bubbles, stay here and watch him, all right?" said the professor.

"Oh—a-all right!" she perked, blushing slightly as she came out of her spaced out form from staring at her counterpart. Her father gave her a smile as he and her sisters left the bedroom, closing the door shut behind him.

Now she and her counterpart were all alone. Unsure what to do, Bubbles shot her head around until she found a small chair. She pulled this up to the bed, and sat upon it, staring at Boomer's unconscious figure. She watched his chest move up and down, and slowly she made it to his face.

_He looks calmer when in sleeping form, even with that cut bruise under his eye, _she thought, her eyes become half-lidded. Slowly, her eyes made it to his lips. The lips she had become so close to recently. Bravely, she picked up her hand and started circling his mouth gently with her finger. He didn't move, in fact, it seemed that he had become even calmer.

Bubbles went even closer to his face, not lifting her finger. She was now on the bed, dangerously close to him. She then removed her finger, and moved in to close the space between them.

She was so busy and empty-headed, she didn't hear the door open softly.

She didn't hear her sister start to speak cheerfully.

But she heard that sound of the floor collide with glass, and liquid spilling all over the floor. Bubbles' head shot up from Boomer's lips, and saw her redheaded sister there, her pink eyes wide, her right hand in front of her mouth. She took a step back.

"Blossom…!"

--

**A/N: **Fast Talking Dolphin, I guess I dedicate this chapter to you. I was thinking so much about your review, that I couldn't help doing this. Thanks for helping me continue :D!


	9. Tell Me What Happened

Recap: Bubbles' head shot up from Boomer's lips, and saw her redheaded sister there, her pink eyes wide, her right hand in fro

Recap:_ Bubbles' head shot up from Boomer's lips, and saw her redheaded sister there, her pink eyes wide, and her right hand in front of her mouth. She took a step back. _

"_Blossom…!"_

**Chapter 9: **

"Blossom, this isn't what you think," cried Bubbles, her mouth in gear faster than her mind. She didn't even stop to logically think of the reason she was saying all these things as if Blossom had a special connection with the one she was intentionally about to kiss. Her brain registered that, and didn't even put it into words.

In short, it was a big, emotional mess.

Blossom seemed like her sister was saying things she didn't agree to, didn't understand, and didn't believe; as if she was speaking another language; other than Chinese, Portuguese, English, German and a little Turkish, because Blossom the smarty already knows those languages (XD).

Like a scared puppy, her nails did not move from their position in her mouth. She constantly took steps back, shaking her head wildly. Bubbles was so frozen she didn't even notice that she had not moved from her malicious pose.

And a split second later… she ran.

"Blossom!"

She ran out the door, ignoring her blonde sister's protests. She brushed past her green sister, ignoring the sentence: "WHA! Whoever's crying next is the professor!" and leaped out the door, into the skies, leaving behind a streak of pink that slowly faded.

**-Brick's POV-**

_Toc. Toc. Toc. _Butch didn't have to reprimand me. Jeez, the big idiot. All _he _ever does is constantly repeat his phrases that are, not to mention, in BAD ASS GRAMMAR! The annoying thing is, he always seems to have the worst grammar when he's trying the hardest not to. He's just so hopeless.

_Toc. Toc. Toc. _Yeah, I know. That sound is infuriating me, too. The weird thing is, I'm the one causing it, and I don't know when I should stop. This action is usually done when someone, most preferably a boy, is thinking pretty hard. The sound is quite soothing sometimes, though. Give me the antonym of 'effortlessly'?

Okay, so you're telling me to cut screwing around the damn crap and get straight to the point. Humph, I thought you already figured it out… it's a can, stupidos. I'm kicking a damn can. On the ground. Hands in pockets. End point.

Another question? Yeah, I am fully aware of it. Why am I here on the ground, kicking a stupid can, apparently thinking (insert antonym of effortlessly), instead of bashing into the Puff's house like I seemed I was about to do before I fell through the floorboard? Well, that's not what happened at all after I chucked Butch's foot into his mouth. What I did was leave the building; look at the sky, and instead of flying high towards my planned destination, dropped my head and found a can to kick around.

_Drip. Plop._

Crap. I reached my hand to the top of my head and found something wet come in contact with my bare skin. Is it damn raining? As if the sound of the stupid can wasn't enough!

I looked up, apparently about to curse to the skies. But instead of finding a blue blanket streaked with gray, I found a different steak. A pink one, to be specific.

"What the…?" Without really stopping to think about it, my eyes caught the moist part of my hand and slowly stuck it into my mouth to taste the liquid.

_Salty._

Hey… this isn't what rain tastes like! Usually it tastes like mud or something… (A/N: Forgive me if I'm wrong, I haven't tasted rain in a long while) And what was with that pink—

_**PINK! **_

Just the mentioning of that word readily reminds me of the one whom I've been thinking about a lot lately. I bent my knees slightly, and, not knowing what I was planning to do, got ready to kick off into the sky.

-

Blossom flew through the sky, having absolute nil idea on where she was going, and not even seeming to care. She just had to get away from all her problems, her emotional shocks, her angry breakouts, her bitter memories of being _betrayed, _her… her heart aches—

"WHOA!"

Blossom collided with something, and wide masses of hair flew into her face as she backed out in the air. Her bright scarlet tresses began to ease down, but she did not lift her head, nor did she open her tightly squeezed shut eyes. "I-I'm sorry," she said, as if bumping into someone in the air was perfectly normal for everyone. She then stayed quiet, as if the person would adjust his hat and utter the words, "It's fine, have a nice day."

Only the person didn't say that at all. And it wasn't a nice day one bit, and she wasn't quite sure why.

But what _did _happen was that the person adjusted his hat into its correct, messy position, and said something else.

"Whatever… what the heck's your problem anyway; you—" Brick paused when he looked at Blossom. Her eyes were closed tightly to prevent tears from coming through, but it wasn't working. Wide ribbons of tears flowed freely down her cheeks and toward the Earth.

Brick stayed silent, his mouth slowly closing, and his eyelids closing halfway as he examined the redhead floating in front of him. She wasn't listening to anything he was saying, she was just there, as if waiting for an answer. She was lost in her thoughts. But even in the broken state she was in, she still looked beautiful. Like an angel… a _lost _angel.

Brick hung his head, scratched the back of it, and, frowning stiffly, sighed. Blossom still did not notice. He looked at her face again, this time, wearing a painful look. He touched her shoulder.

"Why are you crying…?"

Her eyes still filled with tears, she looked up, her eyelids drooping. "I…" Her lip quivered and her head shot down again. "_**I don't know!**_"

Scowling, Brick grabbed her face pulled her into level with his face, dangerously close. Her pink eyes began to widen. "LOOK AT ME!" he commanded forcefully. "_**Tell me what happened!!**_"

A split second later, something flashed inside of Blossom and she tore her gaze away from Brick's soon-concerned one, freeing her face away from his hands. But Brick wasn't the one crying, and he grabbed her wrists in a tight clutch. Blossom struggled, but she wasn't exactly the strongest in this situation. She tried pulling away, and he tried pulling her back.

"LET ME GO!" her voice quivered in her sobbing state.

"NO!"

The result was Blossom, for one whole second, gave in to rest, and was too late to get back. And you know when the car is moving forward, you move backward, and when it stops, you suddenly jerk forward? Well, that's what happened in this situation. Blossom smacked into Brick, and he squeezed her body against his, stopping her from moving back. She kept twitching, so he pulled her tighter, suffocating her so she'd stop breathing and sobbing, and twirled wildly in the sky. She was on bottom and he was on top, and they exchanged positions as they spun and spun and spun… Brick in complete control. Then they spun upside down, causing Blossom's immensely long hair to wrap tightly around them.

Finally, they floated a bit lower and feet were on bottom. He finally released Blossom, who coughed twice as if possessing a deep phlegmatic cold, and started gulping in air. It was hard for her to start sobbing again now. Slowly, her slightly swollen eyes widened to see the boy floating in front of her, knuckles on sides. She then snapped back to reality and wrenched around to escape—but alas and alack, her hair got in the way. Brick pulled her abruptly and once again got her squeezed tightly, though this time it wasn't as suffocating as before. His hand on the back of her head, he pressed against her messed up ribbon and pushed her head above his shoulder. His other hand rubbed forceful yet slightly soothing ovals on her back.

"Tell. Me. What. Happened."

Blossom gulped.

--

**Annoying A/N: **Do I have to do this? gets poked by a torch from behind Gulp—okay, okay. Apologies again, people. Short chappy, long update… but I wouldn't have updated if it wasn't for Aurora-Powerpunk and her superb stories, not to mention her cool profile page! I owe it all to her. gets poked again


	10. Try to Understand

**Chapter 10: **Try to Understand

"Bubbles." Buttercup leaned in the doorway. "Do you know anything about Blossom's sudden emotional relevance?" she took great care to use the last word so her sister might be able to realize that the situation was serious.

Luckily the blonde was already seated at his side, no longer on top of him, as she listened to her sister's question. But despite the clearness of the inquiry, Bubbles had absolutely no answer in mind. What had she to say?

_Blossom likes Boomer, and despite my knowledge of this apparent fact, I went ahead and kissed him in front of her. _She could only think of the chaos that would follow.

"Come on," Bubbles got to her feet. "We have to find her."

-------------------------

Two redheaded teens around the age of fourteen sat with heavy clouds shadowing over their heads. Blossom felt uneasy and incredibly conscious, seeing that the street they were currently in was deserted. The citizens had expected rain, and were currently waiting in the safety of their homes.

Why did she run off, anyway? What made her feel the shock and hurt that overcame her at that moment? Sure, thinking back, she might have been surprised. She might have even had the right to send the glass crashing to the floor.

But did she have to run away, to cry this much? Did she need the _sympathy of Brick Jojo?_

It sickened her to think about it.

"Well?" he bent forward and rested his elbows on his knees, eyes half-lidded and lips slightly pursed to form an arrogant, spoiled little-boy expression.

The longhaired girl at his side twiddled her thumbs nervously between her thighs. "I don't know." But as soon as the words left her lips, she squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for his outburst.

"DON'T 'I DON'T KNOW' ME!!!!"he would shout, jumping onto the bench and grinding his sneaker onto her head.

_Thud._

Instead of feeling the dull 'thunk' that signified his foot on her head and hearing the shout that would make all hell break loose, she realized that Brick's head had fallen onto her lap. He let out a sigh that seemed like a yawn.

"I'm tired."

His eyes closed, he reached for his cap and pulled it down over his face.

He didn't want her to see him blushing.

----------------------------

Boomer woke up feeling cramped.

He blinked his eyes a couple of times, seeing only the pale ceiling of the Powerpuff Girls' room. His body seemed like it was having trouble moving, but he had the great energy. And so, with a few creaks and winces, he sat up on the bed.

He was alone.

Slowly, he bent his head down and clutched his forehead, tufts of hair peeking out from between his fingers. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember where he was, how he got there, and try to understand what the hell happened.

"_B-but, you lied to us," said Brick lamely. "Saying you were looking for something you lost in some really unimaginative place. You should be disgusted with __yourself, __lying to your own brothers—"_

"_It was _worth_ it,__" Boomer cut in. "And you may be right about one thing for the first time in your life, Brick. I __should __be disgusted with myself. I can't believe I didn't think of it sooner!" he paused to catch his breath._

"_What are you saying?" Brick asked, narrowing his eyes._

"_What I'm __saying__…" Boomer panted, "…is that I am simply quitting."_

After that, a great tiredness fell over him and he felt his knees give way. Strands of red was what his blurry sight caught hold of before it all turned black. And then… there was the divine voice that called out his name.

"_Boomer!"_

His hand trailed down his forehead to cover his nose and mouth, trying to deny himself the warm feeling on his cheeks that signified that he was blushing.

And was his heart beating now, too? He covered his eyes and swore viciously at himself. He was so confused, and now that he quit the Rowdyruff Boys, what was he to do? There was no more point of the plan that barely existed. And now perhaps his brothers were planning against him now too.

He got up from the bed and out the window into the light drizzle.

The girls and the boys were at lost to Townsville.

Well, except maybe one.

------------------

Butch stood precariously over the hold Brick made in his pacing, staring over it with a blank mind. _I wonder where he went to in such a hurry, _he thought dumbly. _Oh right—to the Powder puffs' house._ Slowly, he walked toward the window, feeling numb and lightheaded.

And, by chance, he saw two streaks across the sky, green and blue.

Letting out an exclamation of surprise, he took off out the window.

------------------

Blossom looked up at the sky and slowly closed her pink orbs as raindrops pelted her pale face. She exhaled, feeling the cold and dampness blanket her, enveloping her in serenity.

Sudden movement made her eyes snap open, and she looked down at her lap. She saw that the cap Brick used to cover his face had tilted over to the side, hopped over her knee and splashed into a puddle at their feet so that she could see his sleeping face clearly.

His red brows were slightly puckered, as she had always imagined the Rowdyruffs slept. His lips were parted slightly, and a hand rested on his stomach. One leg was bent and the other was spread straight over the remainder of the bench.

He actually looked… innocent.

Though wearing a frown, he resembled the sleeping face of a little boy. Even his usually intimidating upturned collar made his cheeks seem fuller. Blossom bent down so that the raindrops would stop hitting his face. They were most probably a reason why he was uncomfortable. She wanted him to have a peaceful sleep… just once.

It seemed to have worked. His eyebrows slowly rested, making him look more babyish than ever. She smiled at this now little boy, imagining back when she was thirteen and she took up a babysitting job. The little baby boys would always wrap their small pudgy hands round her neck, and pout for a kiss. Blossom would close her eyes and peck their lips back, giggling.

Little boys a few years older than the babies vowed that they would marry her, and she would also laugh at that, making mild promises and smiling at the determinedness to be the man for her.

Blossom did not realize that she had closed her eyes. She didn't realize that there was a small, tempting smile on her face. She didn't realize that Brick's eyes had slowly opened halfway, and seen her face. She didn't realize that he smiled hugely at this, his eyes still half-lidded.

But she realized the warm touch to her delicate lips. Her eyes widened as they broke apart, Brick supporting himself on his elbows and smirking smugly up at her. He was also the one who first spoke.

"You like me now, don't you?"

"W-wait," the poor girl stammered, "t-that was—"

"That was? That was what?"

To this question Blossom could not answer as she blushed and smoothed her hair up and down over her shoulder. Brick took her wrist and spread out his arms like one of the children.

"Come here."

And she fell onto his lips, his arms holding her to him, and her elbows on either side of him.

Both did not realize the blond-haired boy that swooped down.

He recognized the array of red hair but had not seen the boy under her. "Blossom!" he cried as he ran over to them, unheard. "Blossom! Hey! Hey!"

But he stopped two meters away from them, finally seeing the shocking sight.

Hearing her name, Blossom looked up, and saw the boy she had seen being kissed earlier, a sight she didn't know why she couldn't bear. Now here he was, mouth open, frozen in the rain where he stood, bruises and cuts in bandages.

He ran.

"Boomer, wait!" she cried, jumping off the bench, intentions set on running after him.

"Hey!" Brick grabbed her. "Why do you care? Why do you need to go? You love me, remember?"

The sudden questions hit her like stones. She parted her gritted teeth and shook her head wildly. "I don't know!!!" And she tore away from him, leaving him there, but only pulling the strings of this new love quadrangle.

-------------------------------

The two girls in the air were stopped when a green streak swooped in front of him. There, arms crossed and bobbing in the air, was Butch Jojo. "Where might you ladies be going?" he asked.

"Get out of the way, Butch, you've got no business here," Buttercup snapped.

"Oh, do I?"

"Yeah! Now stop with the good grammar, we're trying to find Blossom."

"Hmm… this should be easy without the leader," Butch licked his lips, cracking his knuckles. "Well, you'd better go through me first."

Bubbles spotted a familiar blue atmosphere. _Is that Boomer? _Bubbles thought, needing to use her supersonic vision. "Buttercup, do you think you can handle this by yourself?" she asked.

"I've wanted to fight them since the stupid pact!" Buttercup smirked, nodding at her.

And so, with permission, Bubbles swooped down…

**---------------------------------**

**Annoying A/N: **Whew! So sorry for the long update. I was thinking this wasn't good enough. Still, you guys were okay with The Will to Kill right??


	11. The Brick Wall

**Recap: **_Bubbles spotted a familiar blue atmosphere. __Is that Boomer? __Bubbles thought, needing to use her supersonic vision. "Buttercup, do you think you can handle this by yourself?" she asked, glancing briefly at the green Ruff hovering in front of them, arms folded and ready for combat.  
"I've wanted to fight them since the stupid pact!" Buttercup smirked, nodding at her.  
And so, with permission, Bubbles swooped down…_

**Annoying A/N: **Sorry for the long wait, my computer broke down (again)! But this chapter wouldn't have existed now without your votes! Please continue to support the stories you want updated faster!

_**THIS CHAPTER IS DEDICATED TO THE EIGHT PEOPLE WHO PUSHED ME INTO UPDATING THIS! PLEASE CONTINUE TO VOTE IN THE POLL IN MY PROFILE.**_

**Chapter 11: **The Brick Wall

Her smooth, straight red hair was by now—she was sure—wet and pressed limply against her face. It felt slightly uncomfortable, and weighed her down. She chose against flying until she really needed to or was sure he was out in the open. He knew that in his condition, he would not be able to fly, and could easily hide beneath things that concealed those viewing them from a bird's eye view. Plus she knew that high in the sky she would be easier to spot, and she did not want him to injure himself in the effort of getting away.

"_You love me, remember?" _

Did she? It never really occurred to her, now that she began to think about it. But there was this strange willingness when he pulled her into the kiss. The gesture would've seemed pathetic if she really looked at it from another view, she contemplated. But really, did that mean she fell in love _just now? _

Or was she in love all along? With… someone else…?

Blossom skidded to turn the corner at the right, easily staying on her feet. She thought she saw a tuft of blonde hair flash by—

But it was a dead end.

"Wait!" Bubbles called out, her delicate feet near the ground in attempted landing. The person whom she was endeavoring to pursue had quickly taken a left turn. "Boomer it's…" she let her words drift as she continued to follow him, her feet hovering above the ground.

She decided not to call out. Perhaps he would calm down if he realized there was nothing to be running away from. She rose into the air but kept a watch, wondering what would make him run so determinedly with his injuries without turning back.

At last he slowed down. He had reached an alley, and dropped to his knees in front of it, his golden head bent. His arms were limp at his sides, his slightly bent fingers lightly touching the rough and stony concrete ground. He was breathing heavily from the run, and a few of his scars opened at the action of running, but the rest were healing rather quickly in the few minutes that had gone by. He was, after all, not a normal person.

Beads of rain dripped constantly at the tips of his golden shade. Bending over, his damp hair hung before his face like a canopy.

Water was running down his face. But the stream of water that now poured down his chin was not was cold as the rain that patted his back.

They were warm. They were tears.

And like the water down his face gone warm, a gentle pat met his back, in contrast to the cold droplets that ceased to hurt him but seemed to be hostile, disregarding. He turned his head slowly, and his eyes rounded at the sight he did not predict what he would see there.

"Well," Buttercup rolled up her sleeves, seeming invigorated even at the disappearance of her sister. "I've been waiting so long… I _knew _you'd uncoil soon."

"Well… _I _couldn't take it at least." Butch shrugged. "Ever since Boomer left Brick hasn't been so intent on what we were plannin'."

She quirked an eyebrow. "I thought so. So, seeing as you're confident that I am in your supposed mercy, care to recite the plan?"

Her opponent smirked. "That's how it usually goes," he said, "But what about a change of history… and we get straight to the fighting bit before I start chewing your ear off?"

She mirrored his facial expression. "Sounds good to me."

Bewildered, the redhead looked up at the brick wall that just turned up in front of her as if in thin air. With her jaw hanging open, she stood there with her palms spread at her sides, the long shadow of the wall blanketing her figure. She was absolutely sure that it wasn't there before. Blossom wasn't stupid; the possibility that she might have been hallucinating in the rain came to mind instantly. But she was absolutely _sure… _And Boomer, did he have the strength to jump over this unusually tall wall?

"_T-that's strange…_"Blossom whispered to herself as her gaze rose. Was the brick wall actually getting taller? She dug her fists into her round, pink eyes and looked at it again. This time it was immobile, but there was no doubt that it was taller than before.

_I-I'd better fly over this thing, _she thought sensibly, and got ready to soar into the sky. She watched her feet leave the ground and brushed a wet lock out of her face. She then looked forward, seeing the red brick wall blur slightly because of the speed. She waited for a burst of gray skies with streaks of blue, but all she saw was the blurry red…

"Huh?" A frown of suspicion met her sweet face, and she looked up.

_The wall was getting taller._

Blossom let out a high-pitched exclamation of shock, and her flying momentarily paused, and backed away from the wall instead. Then as quickly as that, something closed around her wrist and she screamed.

"W-what was that?" Breaking away from their transitory trance of looking at each other in confusion, Bubbles' gaze shot to the sky.

"I-it sounded like Blossom," offered Boomer, frowning. Her hand left his shoulder without either one noticing. Strong was their concern for the redheaded Puff.

"It came from there," Bubbles accurately pointed in the direction where Blossom was. Her finger met the tall brick wall beside them. She then swerved and helped Boomer, whom she saw was attempting to stand, to his feet.

"I'm fine," he insisted. There was a determined look in his grave expression. "Let's find Blossom."

But he continued to clutch Bubbles' hand.

_At the same time…_

The scream abruptly impeded the ferocious fight of the green pair. They were tangled up in each other, bristling and striking. With Butch's hand clinging to her wet hair, she dodged a punch and was about to aim a close-range kick at his pelvis when the scream reached their ears.

"What the—?"

"Shut up!" commanded a sharp, familiar voice, and Blossom's screaming ceased.

"W-what…" she stuttered. But Brick was no longer looking at her. He glowered hatefully at the wall with squinted, fiery red eyes, his clutch tightening on her wrist. Blossom was about to acknowledge her discomfort when he tugged at her.

"Come on," he said in a low voice. And they swooped together in the other direction, upwards into the sky.

"Wait, where…" Some of the wet hair that moved in front of her face got into her mouth, cutting her off. Brick disregarded her, which got Blossom annoyed the first time that day. Suddenly they were hurtling past something dense and incredibly wet.

"Ugh!" Blossom coughed slightly as they finally landed on something that felt wet but soft and gave the impression of an irregularly shaped sponge. Moving her wet hair out of her eyes, she saw that Brick sat in front of her, but his unwelcoming gaze was directed towards Townsville, which both could discreetly see without using their powers.

As they were above the rain, Blossom felt the warm sun upon her raindrop-beaded skin. She took her limp hair and wrung it, producing a good deal of water. She thought about asking him a question, but wasn't sure if he knew much more than she did. The fog that had settled over her mind cleared slightly; she was sure not to stutter this time.

"Do you know anything about that wall?" she said. She had not forgotten the conspicuously loathsome gaze he gave it.

"I have an idea who did it," he said simply. Only his lips moved. Blossom's eyebrows lowered.

"Yes, that might have seemed rather conspicuous; I was hoping for the specifications and more meticulous enlightenment," she said sarcastically, hands on her hips.

Brick looked at her. "Huh?" For once, and she realized she was starting to miss it; he had a stupid expression on his face. Blossom was glad that Brick was no longer in control of her.

"Well, seeing as you've got no answers," she prepared to stand, smoothing down her skirt so he wouldn't be able to see what was beneath it, "I think I'll continue my search for Boomer."

"Wait," Brick said haltingly, smacking his hand over the hand on her skirt. He was frowning again, but it wasn't the smug, malicious or in-command expressions that she usually saw on him. "You're _still _going after that—that—"

"_Boomer,_" she hissed, her eyes narrowing in hostility. "Got anything worth saying to me?"

He paused. "Look, I can't tell you who made that wall—,"

"Nor why?" she cut in.

"…Much less," he said, and her eyes turned into slits, and he hastily added, "But I can tell you this. I—"

His words were impeded by a squeak Blossom produced. Her thighs that had been dried by the sun sank into the wet cloud under her. The sudden cold wetness shot through the marrow of her bones.

The meek look on Brick's face disappeared. He once again had a smirk on his face.

"It got in your panties, huh?"

"_Butch!" _Boomer, hovering in front of his brother with arms crossed, squinted spitefully at him. The rain had lessened.

Buttercup took the chance to break away from her opponent, wiping the blood of her lip with the back of her hand.

"We came up here to ask for help, and I see _you fighting?_" Boomer went on unabashedly.

"Hey, what happened to the idiot?" Buttercup asked her sister in a low voice, wondering at the power that surged from within the blond Ruff.

"I guess he's changed since leaving them…" Bubbles said, gazing steadily at him. She then said in an even lower, inward voice, "But I never thought of him as an idiot."

"I thought what I said last time you would make you guys would make you lay off for a while, maybe even make you think for once," Boomer said.

"But Brick always thought up stuff…"

Boomer told him to shut up and Butch shrunk a bit. "Even when I left…" his voice drifted off a bit but it didn't change the scathing in his voice when he continued talking. "I guess… that didn't shake you a bit huh? I was nothing to you guys. _Nothing!_" He started to regain his breath.

Thoughtlessly, Butch dared to speak. "Dude… what happened to you?" Even he noticed Boomer's sudden authority.

"Guess he got used to giving big speeches?" Buttercup whispered again, and Bubbles hushed her.

Surprisingly, Boomer half-smiled. "Nothing," he said as if in answer to Butch's question. "You guys mean nothing to me now."

He started to float away. "Let's go find Blossom," he murmured to Bubbles who said, "Oh!" and nodded eagerly. Buttercup followed, leaving Butch hovering there, taken aback. He had gotten his turn to get yelled at.

"I don't know what got into me," Boomer said, holding his forehead.

"It's all right," Bubbles said. "We don't blame you."

Buttercup nodded. "I can't say that it wasn't surprising," she shrugged. "And the fight was partly my fault I guess. But I had to hold him off."

Boomer smiled at her. "Yeah. I know what Butch's like without a fight. But seriously… I couldn't control myself."

They rounded the corner and Bubbles' eyes widened. The wall was gone.

**A/N Announcement: **I want to know if Powerpuff Love Triangle will continue to be an appropriate title for this story, seeing as Bubbles has joined in sometime ago. Do you think I should change it? Votation and suggestions will be accompanied along with your review. Thanks! Sorry that it wasn't long enough!!!


	12. Unknown Quandary

**Recap: **_"I don't know what got into me," Boomer said, holding his forehead.  
"It's all right," Bubbles said. "We don't blame you."  
Buttercup nodded. "I can't say that it wasn't surprising," she shrugged. "The fight was partly my fault I guess. But I had to hold him off."  
Boomer smiled at her. "Yeah. I know what Butch's like without a fight. But seriously… I couldn't control myself."  
They rounded the corner and Bubbles' eyes widened. The wall was gone. _

**Chapter 12:**

Blossom had managed to get away from Brick. She was able to easily spot the three figures hovering in the sky, and as she zoomed closer, saw that her siblings were with Boomer.

_Oh no, _she thought, biting her lip. She hadn't remembered her sisters, and hadn't considered how worried they might have been. She didn't even think that they might have obviously wanted to look for Boomer too.

She hesitated. Should she approach them? She could just imagine Buttercup's indignant reaction… but she knew that she wasn't a coward. Gathering all her strength, she floated towards them in confidence.

She was now right behind them. But they had not as of yet noticed her presence. As they floated steadily across the sky in a gradual manner, they spoke huddled together in low voices. She went closer, and finally tapped the shoulder of her blonde sister. Her head whipped around, sending hundreds of droplets from her hair to her redheaded sister's face.

"BLOSSOM!!"

"What the—"

"Huh?"

And before she realized what was happening, she was enveloped in a squeeze, and sudden headbutt from Buttercup that nearly sent her rotating over the sky where she hovered.

"Damn! Where the hell did you go?!" Buttercup said, her loud voice over the incomprehensible words that spilled from Bubbles' mouth as the blonde held her oldest sister tightly.

"I… well…" Blossom gave Buttercup an overly wide grin, lolling her eyes to the sun-painted sky, racking her brain. What emotions and encounters caused her to do what she did? What did she do again?

It was difficult to move her eyes away from the glorious sunset that had now become the center of Buttercup's attention as it became the subject of Bubbles' blubbers, but somehow, and by instinct, her gaze caught sight of Boomer, hovering a short distance away from the trio. He was looking in their direction, either at the beautiful sunset or at her or at Bubbles, who she stood so closely to, and with no trace of bitterness or memories over what anything will, or had happened in the world.

It took her a moment to see the pink, orange, red and yellow reflected in his blue eyes. A small smile graced her lips as she turned away from everything and then at the sun that ended another eventful day in their eventful lives.

She wished she felt the way he did at that moment.

* * *

Home.

A quick embrace from the professor.

A wink from her sisters.

A slow trip floating up the stairs.

A suppressed yawn.

The creak of an opened door.

A fall into bed.

Sleep.

* * *

When Blossom's big pink eyes opened again, they were half-lidded and glowed, blinking in the darkness. She still felt slightly drowsy, but no yawn asked to escape her lips. It was pitch dark except for the dim, white glow of the moon wafting in through her opened window. A small breeze drifted through the room, creating small goose bumps on her peach-colored skin. She shivered, wondering why the cold did not awaken her earlier.

She gazed over at the window, and she caught her breath and fell back, her knees knocking onto her chin. For a split second she saw a silhouette sat perched like a frog on the window sill, the breeze shaking his or her spiky hair, but when she quickly sat herself up, which took no more than a second, the intruder was gone.

It was easy for a person to think that it might've been their imagination, but Blossom wasn't as stupid. She was wide awake now. And soundlessly, cautiously, she stepped down from her soft warm bed onto the floor. She moved slowly toward the window, and stopped a few feet away, so that the translucent curtains, desperately reaching out to her, barely touched her even as the wind carried them high and made her long red hair slip out of her serious face. Only the moon was out there, a full bright moon peering down wisely at her with a cloud sidling by its side.

Using her powers, she peered at the area above and below her window to see if they had managed to sling themselves out of the way and clung to the wall outside.

Nope. No one was out there. Another moment pass and she took another step forward, the curtains brushing her face like feathers as she reached out with wary fingers and finally shut the window with a sound. The wind ceased almost immediately. Her heavy locks fell over her shoulders.

The Powerpuff let out a relieved breath. The intruder was gone, but she'd have to check with her sisters in the morning to make sure nothing was stolen from them. He must've been from out of town—otherwise he would've known that he had idiotically attempted to rob the home of the Powerpuff Girls. Even the professor was famous, as he'd come up with many useful inventions (accidentally, of course) at least once every two years which always had a place in the awarding stand. Maybe he could invent something that would enhance the security of their home.

Suddenly drowsiness returned. She laid down on her bed again and the glow of her pink eyes went out as her eyelids closed over them. At that moment the cloud completely concealed the moon and for a moment her room was bathed in complete darkness until another light flickered on with a dangerous sound.

Two red eyes staring perilously at the vulnerable, delicate body of Blossom Utonium.

"Huh? A burglar?" Buttercup said that morning at breakfast, a large chunk of pancake at the corner of her mouth.

Bubbles glared at her. "Buttercup, don't talk with your mouth full!"

"I _know_," Buttercup said, the pancake still there, quivering slightly at the rapid movement of her lips. "That's why I made sure not to put it in my mouth yet." Bubbles gave her a look of disgust, which her sister ignored.

"Now, now, girls," the professor said. "We're—"

"Good morning," said a husky morning voice to which they all turned their heads toward. It was Boomer, walking toward them, scratching his left eye with his fist. He looked mildly drowsy and his messy blonde hair looked slightly greasy.

"G-good morning," Bubbles quickly said, first to recover from the surprise of the intrusion. "How was your—"

"Did you hear anything last night?" Blossom abruptly asked. She wasn't sure why her voice acted up so suddenly right in the middle of her sister's sentence, but she felt compelled to neither to apologize nor to bring it up, even as her Bubbles frowned in her direction, confused.

Boomer looked puzzled at the question. "Uh… no," he said, then looked sheepish. "I'm a heavy sleeper." He added, "A _really _heavy sleeper."

Buttercup snickered. "So even if someone tried to throw you around a bit, yank on your hair or even tried to kiss you in your sleep you wouldn't wake up?"

Luckily, the surge of blood that rose on Blossom and Bubbles' was unnoticed by Boomer, who chatted away as he took the empty chair the professor offered him. "Yeah, sometimes I'd wake up and find myself in a pile of broken stuffs or with bald spots on my head." He dug his fork into a pancake with enthusiasm, shoved the whole thing into his mouth and swallowed it with a tremendous gulp before going on. "I don't think anyone's tried to kiss me though." He seemed amused by the thought of being kissed by his brothers, and so were Buttercup and the professor.

_Oh yeah, _Bubbles thought, chewing on her lower lip as she peered at her blushed redheaded sister from the corner of her eye, who was idly cutting a piece of her pancake to eat. _I haven't been able to clear up what Blossom saw yet. Does she want to talk about it?_

Blossom chewed on the piece for sometime.

"So what happened last night anyway?" Boomer asked Blossom, emerging from his amusing conversation with Buttercup and the professor.

Blossom was caught a little by surprise. She almost answered without swallowing the food, and quickly, slightly mortified, swallowed it with much effort before replying. "There was someone out my window," she said. "He managed to get out, though, and he was gone in a flash." She took a sip of juice. "He kind of impressed me though. His movements were completely soundless." She lifted her gaze from the glass of juice. "So did you think anything was missing when you woke up?"

Bubbles shook her head. "No. Everything was exactly the same as it was. The window was closed too."

Buttercup shook her head as well. "No difference. I guess. I don't know, the stuff just keep rearranging themselves." She shrugged.

"That's cause you never bother cleaning up and arranging them yourself!" Bubbles scolded.

"I don't know," was the professor's thoughtful answer. "I was in the lab all night. I'll have to check my bedroom later." He turned to Boomer. "What about you?"

Boomer shook his head. "Nothing happened in the living room," he said. "And… I don't have anything, so I'm pretty sure I didn't have anything to find missing when I woke up."

"You don't have nothing," Blossom said suddenly. "You have us."

"And you'll be living with us from now on!" Buttercup said, flashing him a grin.

Bubbles gave the professor a hopeful look, and he nodded his approval. "It shouldn't be difficult raising another child. After all, I've had three of them—and with superpowers—for fourteen years."

Boomer's eyes widened. "T-thank you," he said, wondering stupidly which emotion to express first when all three girls enveloped him in a group hug.

"We'll start a new family together," the professor said grinning, fetching the camera from a drawer nearby. He then squeezed into the scene and pressed the shutter.

The piece of pancake that hung from Buttercup's mouth fell on Boomer's head.

* * *

The four of them went to school together, chatting enthusiastically. "Now I won't have to worry about tutoring anymore," Boomer said brightly. "I feel like all my troubles have just gone and left town."

Buttercup slapped him on the back. "I'm pretty sure your brothers will be too chicken to come out now, after those speeches you threw at their dumb faces."

"I'm really proud of you," Blossom said, then looked up as the wind lifted her hair. _No more problems… _She squinted at the sky. What was that? _No more problems… _She blinked and it was gone.

_No more problems…_

**Annoying A/N: **I've got a handful of ideas that might happen in the next chapter, so please be patient but urge me on when I'm taking too long! Continue casting in your votes.


	13. Boomer and the Girls

**Recap: **_The four of them went to school together, chatting enthusiastically. "Now I won't have to worry about tutoring anymore," Boomer said brightly. "I feel like all my troubles have just gone and left town."_

_Buttercup slapped him on the back. "I'm pretty sure your brothers will be too chicken to come out now, after those speeches you threw at their dumb faces."_

"_I'm really proud of you," Blossom said, then looked up as the wind lifted her hair. _No more problems…_She squinted at the sky. What was that? _No more problems… _She blinked and it was gone._

No more problems…

**Chapter 13: Boomer and the Girls (lol)**

The autumn wind brushed past them as they walked the crowded premises of Pokey Oaks High, chatting endlessly and waving at familiar friends who waved at Boomer in a friendly manner to acknowledge his presence. For the first time he felt the 'new-kid-in-school' demeanor as they made their way to the school's double doors, but it quickly wore away and he felt straight at home.

When the time for the warning bell drew near, the four of them made their way to the classroom. "Wait, what about our seats though?" Boomer said suddenly, the tone of his voice quivering only slightly. "I sit at the bench behind you guys, right, but uh…"

"Oh yeah," Blossom said, recalling. "You sit in between your brothers. But then…"

The rest of her sentence could be deciphered through the glances they gave each other.

"…What should I do?" Boomer problematically whined.

"You could squeeze in with us," Bubbles suggested.

"Fine, but I ain't gonna be on the edge," Buttercup snorted.

"Is that even allowed, though?" Blossom worriedly said, wringing her hands.

"Hmm, how about we just hope we don't get noticed?" Buttercup said sweetly. "It's just for first period anyway."

Their eldest sister slowly shook her head as she spoke. "That won't work for long… We need permits of authority…" she repeated over and over with a frown, even as her companions looked at each other, shrugged and disregarded her words; as they walked into the classroom and proceeded without a care; or when she scooted over to give Boomer room when he said, "Excuse me."

The teacher was writing student council titles on the board, announcing that classroom elections were to begin that very day. Buttercup dully twirled a pen between her fingers, imagining everyone else nominating and voting for their friends, but dropped her pen with surprise as she stared up at her sister's hand in the air.

"Ma'am, I would like to nominate myself as class president."

Hearing this, several of her friends' hands twitched eagerly as they waited to thrust their hands into the air to vote for her. Those who frowned upon people who 'arrogantly' nominated themselves quietly sneered as the teacher efficiently wrote _Blossom _on the board under the _Class president _column_._ She then turned to face the class. "Would anyone else like to…?"

"I would," said a voice that indeed sounded arrogant. The class turned their heads to face the redheaded boy who had uttered those words. He had a sleepy look in his half-lidded eyes, and the skin on his left cheek thickened against the pressure of his hand, which supported it. His other hand was in the air.

Blossom did not expect this. She did not even notice or remember that he was there.

"Well… all right," the teacher said, scribbling _Brick _below _Blossom_. She turned again straightened. "Anyone else?"

But it seemed that no one wanted to compete with either Brick or Blossom. A bit reluctantly, the teacher went on with the voting, slowly stating an introductory sentence, which Buttercup snickered though, grinning at her sister. She lazily crossed her arms behind her head. "Who would vote for someone they barely know?" she huskily whispered to her seatmates.

This was cold comfort to her sisters. _Just because most of them know her doesn't all of them _like_ her, _thought Bubbles pessimistically. She squinted suddenly. _Wait, why am I thinking these thoughts? Why _wouldn't _they like her? _

She shook her head, disturbing Buttercup, who scowled and complained about the golden fluff she had smacked into her mouth.

Blossom, however, appeared to be having even more pessimistic thoughts. In her head, she was reviewing each and every reason there might be against her winning the election. This did not appear in her face, though. She was looking determinedly at her teacher, whose talk was brief but seemed to slow for Blossom.

Then the moment came. "Those who wish to vote for Ms. Utonium…"

Several hands rose in the air, but it did not appear to be the majority. How many were in the class? Blossom skimmed the small crowd. Twenty-seven students, were there?

The teacher counted each hand, but did not announce the number of raises in favor of Blossom. "And now, for Mr. Jones…?"

The hands dropped, others rose—the number did not look far from the former group. The teacher squinted through her glasses, counting. Then she turned and picked up the chalk, evidently to place a check next to the president…

She slashed out Blossom's name.

Gasping sharply, Blossom placed her palms onto the table, ready to rise to her feet.

And she slashed out Brick's name.

"Eh?" she said inwardly, her knees bent, then fell back again. Her opponent quirked a brow.

"Well… it would seem… that there is a tie."

Oh God, that was clichéd.

Now Blossom slammed her palms onto the table and stood up, her mouth opened in protest, but no words came out of her mouth as she was surprised to hear the simultaneous scrape of the chair behind her. She turned, and saw Butch cursing under his breath, picking himself up from the floor, and Brick, who appeared to not have noticed his brother, standing with resolve. He also opened his mouth to speak, but was once again interrupted by the scraping of another bench, and this time it was accompanied by the simultaneous cries of Blossom's sisters, who fell on the floor.

"Ma'am, I hope it's not too late, but I'd like to nominate myself as president."

Around the room, each and every student besides Boomer himself all had similar looks of WTFness on their faces.

It took the teacher several seconds before she shakily straightened her crooked glasses and croaked, "W-well—"

"Ma'am, how about we campaign for our positions?" suggested Brick. "This may be a chance for some new students to get to know us better."

"I second the motion," Blossom said somberly, keen on Brick's intentions.

"I go with whatever Blossom says," Boomer said.

There was a resounding noise of approval that circulated about the classroom.

"C-class," the teacher stuttered, her face reddening with the stress, "please do not get worked up over this. How about we count the votes for Brick and Blossom once more? It is only a classroom officer position—"

But the protests that were shot back at her made things apparent that the students wanted a little more excitement into their first days of school. The teacher slumped in defeat and gave in.

After that, the elections for the smaller positions began.

* * *

When the recess bell rang, Boomer and the girls (Haha, "Boomer and the Girls" xD) hung back as the rest of the students filed out of the classroom, some classmates politely wishing them luck and giving gestures of encouragement as they passed.

When the rest were safely out of earshot, Blossom hissed, "Boomer, what the hell were you thinking? Running as class president? You didn't have to make things harder for yourself!"

"I know," Boomer said, rather uneasy under Blossom's reproachful gaze. "But I didn't want you competing against Brick on your own."

Blossom sighed, her forehead meeting her palm. Bubbles blushed, lips meeting her knuckles. Buttercup snorted with amusement, arms crossed. "Well, dear Booms," she remarked, "did you give the fact that you'll be competing against Blossom any thought?"

There was a pause.

Buttercup held her stomach, bursting into laughter. Bubbles looked more uncomfortable as Blossom looked more exasperated. "You didn't need to butt in, Boomer; really," the latter mumbled, planting her hands at her sides.

"Well," Boomer said sheepishly, "I got no regrets. Even though we'll be competing against each other it'll be better if one of the two of us wins rather than him, right? The goods are two out of three."

Blossom continued to look at him, brows creased. Whether she agreed with him or didn't, Boomer could only guess. "Maybe," she indecisively said in a stubborn tone.

Buttercup let out an enormous yawn and whacked both president candidates on the back, causing them to stumble toward each other. "Well. This spices things up a bit, ne?"

Bubbles could only whimper.

* * *

**Boomer's POV**

Aw craaaaaaaaap. What the hell was I thinking?

Okay, I have no potential at all to lead _anything_. Only Brick ever did anything while I was with them. And I learned nothing.

Well, not that I'd wanna learn anything from him. Eurgh.

I guess what really provoked me to run as president was the connection—the um, the _feudal_ connection that always seemed to rise between Brick and Blossom. Ugh. It's always the two of 'em.

I dunno why, but I just had the urge to butt in.

…

Was what I did good? I mean, I don't always act on my own whims. Until lately.

Ehm, not that it's a bad thing. But this is all new to me. So I'm not sure if I'm making the right decisions or not. Why did I even do it?

…Well, I'm not sorry that I quit the stupid RRB group.

And, after a few seconds to ponder while I'm walking down the hall, I realize that I'm not sorry that I butted in on Blossom and Brick, either.

* * *

It was way too easy.

It always seemed as if Boomer was spaced out, and today it wasn't difficult to figure out what he was thinking. He was walking aimlessly in the hall, hands in pockets, head bent, and eyes concentrated but seeing nothing. And of course, he didn't see what was coming when he entered a crowd, rather a thin one, but also sufficient enough for him to disappear unnoticed.

So the next thing he knew, he was being yanked away by the collar and was slammed against a wall in a distant corner in campus, at a shadowy place behind the school buildings. He winced, and the first thing he saw when his sight came into focus was none other than the sinister look on Brick's face.

"Well, well, well… if it isn't the traitor."

"What do you want with me, Brick?" He hated the whiny tone in his voice and secretly hoped that puberty would hit him soon. It was late for him (but for Butch, it was all too early lol).

The redhead ignored his brother's question. "Thought that you could gain a standing ground by competing as president against _me, _eh, next to your little pink princess?" As he said this, he grabbed at Boomer again and slammed him against the wall, where a spiderweb crack appeared at Boomer's head. Cringing and weak-kneed, the blond dared look up at him.

"There's nothing you can do about that."

Brick smirked. "Or is there?" And out of nowhere he pulled a photo in front of Boomer's face.

"Ohmigod!" Boomer yelled, his eyes saucer-wide at the first glimpse of Blossom in her pearl pink button-up blouse, only it was unbuttoned, clearly revealing the bra underneath. The photo was dimly lit but each seemingly erotic feature of Blossom's upper body angle was distinct, complete with her waves of red bed hair strands cradling her face and tumbling over her milky white skin. She looked as if they were in the middle of…

Boomer slapped the photo from his brother's grasp and began to tear it in half. Brick laughed, pausing Boomer and making him seem smaller. "I've got copies. I'm not stupid."

"W-what do you want?" Boomer stuttered.

Brick only smirked in reply.

* * *

**Rather Annoying A/N: **Wow, okay, so this is getting more dramatic as each chapter goes… Hang in there alright, thanks for the motivation… I've been wondering if anyone wanted The Will to Kill updated, since it's been a hell of a long time, but this received the most votes… Anyways, I'll be reviving the poll so you can continue casting in your votes. Keep reviewing, it keeps me going on.

[*squeals* I can totally imagine them in anime form! EEE!]


	14. Now I Understand

**Annoying A/N: **Where is the HUMOR, people? (dodges ninja stars) No, I didn't mean forgiving me in any way for being too slow. I mean, where has the humor gone from this story? I was rereading chapter 4 and 5 and almost peed myself. Even _I _was shocked that I was so funny (no matter how much of an overestimation this must be)! I mean seriously? "Mitch, you have gotten nine over one fifty on the test, and you are therefore expelled." LOLOLOL.

It'll be hard work to revive it, but I'll try!

I also noticed that it's annoying to say "lol" in between paragraphs of the story, and that the dashes didn't appear after being published. I can't edit them anymore-the documents have been deleted-but I'll keep a keener eye from now on!

**Recap: **_The photo was dimly lit but each seemingly erotic feature of Blossom's upper body angle was distinct, complete with her waves of red bed hair strands cradling her face and tumbling over her milky white skin. She looked as if they were in the middle of…_

_Boomer slapped the photo from his brother's grasp and began to tear it in half. Brick laughed, pausing Boomer and making him seem smaller. "I've got copies. I'm not stupid."_

_"W-what do you want?" Boomer stuttered._

_Brick only smirked in reply._

**Chapter 14: Now I Understand  
**

Brick released him, and Boomer resisted tumbling to the floor on his rear like a weakling. Brick started to walk away, leaving Boomer against the wall, but stopped when Boomer called after him.

"You don't know _what _you want!" he yelled. "You just want to torture me with that photo and—and—"

"Well, it looks like you figured it out," Brick flatly said. "Now that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

Boomer's jaw quivered.

Brick spat at the ground near his brother's feet, and hands in pockets, left with no intrusions.

**Blossom's POV**

"I'm _definitely _with you, Blossom," Mary Thompson told me as we headed towards our classroom, pushing her glasses up her nose. "And Elmer is with you, too. Right, Elmer?"

"Uh-huh." Speaking as if there was phlegm clinging to the back of his throat, he nodded with a geeky smile on his face. I grinned at them both. As we grew from the children we once were, the Mary's self-consciousness increased extensively, meaning she improved herself a lot from when we first met. She is now petite, learned how to use makeup, and keeps her smooth brown hair neat at the nape of her neck. Still, though a timid-looking thing, she speaks her mind.

It really wasn't a surprise that Elmer Sglue got over his teeny crush on Buttercup and moved to Mary instead. Her confession was straightforward and almost publicly announced—and his answer was straightforward, too. He fainted.

But despite how much prettier Mary's gotten, Elmer doesn't seem to have upgraded himself at all. Still constantly picked on and always being saved by girls (Mary, my two other sisters and myself), I wonder why Mary doesn't set her standards higher.

However, I'm ashamed to admit I wouldn't be able to imagine Mary with a cool guy at school. After all, she doesn't negotiate with men unless directly involved with them. She gives her male lab partners a hard time, too.

"Eh? What's so funny?" Mary blinked at me.

"Oh. Nothing." The classroom was getting nearer.

"S-so how are you going to campaign for your position, Blossom?" Elmer asked, almost surprised at his daring to speak.

"I'm not actually that sure. I'll think of something."

"Oh come on! She's a Powerpuff! She can't get any more popular than that," Mary said. "Those other kids are morons for wanting to start uproar by voting for someone they don't even know, a potential troublemaker. People can't get enough of having spice in their lives."

"Hmmm," I said, as we entered the door.

The shock was electrifying.

"EEEEE!" A hyperactive brunette jumped in my face, screeching with a few others behind her—a number of people I couldn't count, because, after all, she was in my face. "Ohmigawd, ohmigawd, ohmigawd, is it truuuueee you and candidate Brick used to daaaate?" she cried. The others hopped up and down. I could tell by the tufts of hair that rose and descended above her head as my gaze whipped around.

This was a very uncomfortable situation to be in. I could hardly understand it, let alone find the words to say, even with my advanced way of thinking. "Where did you—I mean, what are… Who-who _are _you?"

"Sinchn! Snschihanakow!" She screamed again. Elmer and Mary cupped their hands over their ears. "I've been a fan of yours since I was _born_!"

Mary stepped up. "Then that means you voted for her, right?" she asked.

"No! I voted for Brick, and so did all my friends!" she said excitedly. This time, because of Mary, she stepped back a little, so I was able to get a better glimpse of her "friends". They were still forever hopping up and down. To add more pressure to my sanity, some of them were boys.

"What did you say your name was, again?" I asked her wearily.

"Sinshana!" Tiny bits of spit sprayed onto my face. "Sinshana Coe!"

What a common name.

I rubbed my temples. Elmer cowered from the bouncing crowd before us, and Mary looked so agitated and so confused that I made sure to speak before her. "And why was it again that you voted for Brick despite being a fan of mine… since you were… _born_?"

Sinshana was still excited at the prospect of even speaking to me. "Because!" she finally squealed after hopping about three times. "Since you and Brick might have a bit of romantic spaaark, maybe this feudal atmosphere will kick it up a notch! Huh? Riiight? Am I riight? _Yeah_!" The group behind her cheered.

I sighed. "May I remind you that in whatever relationship Brick and I are in, it will not affect the quality of the candidates. Also, voting should not be a matchmaking—"

"OHMIGAAAAAWD," Sinshana cried, cutting me off. (A nerve popped on Mary's right temple.) "I toootally forgot about the _other _candidate! Gosh! Two boys fightin' fer Blossom's hart! 'Course, you'd want him to be runner up (vice president), then you'd two'd go with your buddy-buddy thiiiing." All of a sudden, she let out an extremely exaggerated gasp, and my heart almost jumped out of my chest.

"But then—if Brick got to be pres, and you vice pres, he'd have his way with you!" she squealed, and the group accompanied her. This girl probably hasn't taken a single thing serious in her life. And the rest… they're just messed up. She gasped again. "But—if the two boys grabbed the positions, then they'd KILL EACH OTHER!"

They all screamed like girls in a horror movie.

"Argh! All right, back to your seats!" I cried out in frustration, and stamped my way forward, parting them like the Red Sea. They watched in admiration as I thumped past, Mary and Elmer following closely behind before returning their seats, because just then the teacher arrived, along with a flurry of students who followed her to class.

Boomer and my sisters all took their seats with me. I gazed over at my fellow candidate. Luckily he didn't get caught up with Sinshana, especially with me there. It would have been an even bigger mess than it already was… though maybe my talk with her (if what happened back there could even be sensibly considered a "talk") _did _expose me to the different aspects and the situations likely to occur depending on each outcome.

"Bloss?" Boomer blinked at me. "You okay?"

"Ah." I hadn't moved my gaze from his face. Heat rising, I turned away. "Yeah. M'okay."

He followed suit, and as I side-glanced at him, I noticed blooms of red spreading across his cheeks. I sighed and attempted to focus on class. Talk about awkward.

* * *

In the shadows, a red figure in the dark, leaning with a foot against the wall, held what looked like a small stick. Holding up a small, rectangular object, he used it to light a red and orange flame. He gazed closely at it, observing that the flare looked like it was dancing like a red flower with petals tugged in the breeze.

But he noticed something else. Something that made him scowl and look over at it in deep hate. And that was in the core of the flames waltzing harmoniously with red to red, was blue. Blue, disturbing the dance. Blue, in the very middle, as if it were its intention to disrupt them.

He cursed and threw the matchstick on the concrete floor. The smoke was put out momentarily, and a string of smoke drifted upwards. He stared at it for a while.

"Tch," he muttered, and lit another. He transferred it to his cigarette and popped it into his mouth, throwing the matchstick on the floor without so much of a glance. Of course.

"She must be looking for me right now," Brick thought as he blew out a long string of silver from his mouth, the cigarette between his fingers. He wasn't sure when he started smoking. He just accepted a piece one night off the street from a stranger who offered it to him, as if reading everything written in his face. Was it last night?

Brick procured a picture from inside his jacket. He stared longingly at it, and slowly passed his fingers over the redhead in the picture with desire. He pressed it to his mouth, and put it back. He lifted his cigarette to his lips again, hoping Blossom was thinking of him at the same time, with not bitterness nor spite.

* * *

Back in the classroom, Blossom sneezed, ran her fingers over her nose, and continued to take down notes. Boomer glanced over at her, but when she did not sneeze again, he returned to his work.

She was not thinking about him at all.

* * *

A green figure approached the red.

"Go away, Butch."

He didn't.

"Butch, you're hardly even a main character in this story. Go away."

"I have something to tell you."

Sighing with a single roll of his eyes, Brick planted his other foot on the ground and removed the cigarette. "What?"

"It's about Him."

* * *

Class has just ended. The gang grabs their things and prepares to leave the classroom.

* * *

"He has a really strong opinion on who should win the role."

* * *

Boomer is reminded that he is an assigned cleaner of the classroom that very day of the week, and so is Bubbles.

* * *

"Heh. Buzzing in my matters now, is he."

* * *

Buttercup marches off to the volleyball court. Mary and Elmer meet up for their date.

* * *

"He wants the red Utonium to be vice."

* * *

Blossom manages to avoid Sinshana and her groupie, then she is left alone.

* * *

Brick tosses the burnt cigarette on the ground and stares at Butch with a narrowed eye. "You seem to talk differently today, Butch. Did your talk with Him sober you up?"

"No."

"Hm?"

* * *

Blossom sighed. Alone again. She considered visiting Buttercup and maybe joining in, but it was evident that after their match with the boys, which had taken place during the third chapter, the club had gained a lot more members, and it looked like Buttercup had just occupied the remaining slot.

Blossom gazed down over them, inserting her fingers through the wire net. Buttercup was already their V.I.P.

She smiled lopsidedly to herself, then turned and walked away.

Should she go and fetch Bubbles and Boomer?

She seemed reluctant, but determined to go all the same.

* * *

Boomer sweeped the floor, Bubbles dusted the chalkboard erasers.

For a while, the only sound that filled the science was the sound of the broom passing over the floor beneath it and the erasers pounding softly against each other.

"It's been sometime since we've been alone together, huh?" Boomer said nervously, first attempt.

"Mmm. Yeah," she replied. "I can't remember the last time."

Great, the conversation was progressing. "I think I remember," Boomer said, thoughtfully. "It was a night. We were both on our way home." He dropped his gaze and swiped the dust he had collected into the dustpan. "That was when I was still with the boys."

"Ah... yeah." Bubbles' expression fell. As soon as he mentioned the memory, strands of hair shot up at her neck and she had completely frozen. But all he thought of it was the memory he had of still being with his brothers.

All _she _could think of was how close she was to kissing him. Apparently, he thought nothing of it.

And that _wasn't _the last time they were alone together. The last time, he was asleep...

The two went on in silence, both lost in different memories.

She was sure now. She was sure of what she was feeling. No more asking herself the question _"Why?". _

She finally understood.

"Boomer," she began sternly, setting the erasers down on the windowsill.

"Yeah?" He lifted his head to look at her. She stared at him with piercing sky blue eyes, while the sky itself was splotched with red, a glow falling over the both of them. It caught his attention for a moment, the magnificent sea of red.

"Boomer." She called him again.

"Ah-yes?"

This was it.

* * *

Somewhere else...

"I didn't speak with him." Butch answered Brick with grave certainty.

A single red eyebrow was raised. "Then how did you..."

His words trailed off, leaving his mouth open slightly as Butch's emerald eyes glowed a sinister green, and an unmistakably effeminate voice exited Brick's younger brother's lips.

"I _am _Him."

* * *

**Annoying A/N: **Dun-duru-run-dun-duuunnn! I update faster when you guys review. I got one just yesterday and here's what I have, a chapter that gives birth to more questions.

Note: There are some facts in here that were conveniently affirmed by a PPG Children's book (#2 All Chalked Up) by Amy Keating Rogers, published by PSICOM PUBLISHING INC. Good thing I asked to have it bought when I was a kid!

+ Him's eyes are most definitely green, a convenient fact.

+ Mary's last name is Thompson. (I'm so lucky she was called in attendance!)

+ Elmer's last name is Sglue.


	15. No Turning Back

_In the last chapter, we witnessed Him, masked by Butch, revealing his new plan to Brick. Bubbles, meanwhile, prepared to reveal her feelings for Boomer. Get ready for a lengthily written chapter._

**Chapter 15: No Turning Back**

Right now, at this moment, it was all clear for Bubbles Utonium. It was not her decision to make—the desire to have Boomer for herself. Yes, she knew now, and it was no use succumbing to the denial that had been pulling at her leg ever since the first time she had been given the surprise of seeing him at her doorstep. She was only aware now of the feelings that had developed since then, and of the immaturity

It was _his _decision to make, and for her to accept.

If he liked her back, then she would be happy—she had every right to—and well, if it bothered Blossom, it was her own problem to deal with. There was no reason for Bubbles' happiness to be taken away because of Blossom, because if Boomer liked her back, then it was _her _who deserved him. Her, Bubbles Utonium.

She tried not to think of the alternative.

Gathering her courage, she closed her eyes, inhaling, and then held her breath as she forced herself to fix a determined stare in Boomer's direction. He looked at her intently, curiosity etched in his big blue eyes. If there was any other emotion there in the magnificent sea of blue, then she couldn't see it. Her sight was smeared with nervousness, and her fingers drifted to the tight space between her legs, subconsciously aware of the sweat that had formed there. Then, after what seemed like forever, she spoke.

"Boomer, I—"

The door slammed open—or at least, that's how it seemed to Bubbles, because the heart that was beating loudly in her chest suddenly popped out of her ribcage.

"Oh, here you guys are," Blossom grinned at them. _Was something happening here? _She couldn't help thinking to herself as she secretly surveyed the tension in the air. Then she added quickly, "Oh, what a beautiful sunset."

Bubbles looked at it as if it was the only thing worth looking at, expression tense. Boomer glanced casually at it, and answered Blossom, "Yeah, it sure is."

"The classroom's positively sparkling," Blossom exaggerated. "I can't believe you guys stayed this long to clean. Well, I'm sorry to keep you guys waiting. Were you waiting for me to pick you up?"

"No," Bubbles muttered quietly, but Blossom caught it.

"Oh, I see." Her pink eyes flicked toward Boomer, but his gaze was fixed on Bubbles, whose bangs cast a shadow over her eyes. "Well…" she shot a brief glance at the cleaning materials in disarray. "I'll be out in the hall. You guys finish up in here." Then, with tremendous hesitation, she forced herself to turn and walk away, which she did in a rather robotic manner.

But Bubbles hardly heard what Blossom said last. Her thoughts were so fixed on what the sunset was trying to tell her, that Blossom's receding footsteps seemed to echo in her head.

"Hey, last time we saw such a pretty sunset was yesterday, you know."

Bubbles snapped back to reality. "Ah. Yeah."

"Sunsets usually mean endings, you know. But that last time, it was a beginning."

"Oh…?" _What's he talking about?_

"It was my beginning with you guys. But I guess, in my case, it meant an ending too."

"Ending…?" Why did that word seem to strike her so severely?

"Yeah. It was the official ending of my first relationship with my brothers and I. I don't regret it. But there is one thing that I'm sorry about."

"What's that?" _Can't. Stop. Short. Retarded. Replies. _Her high-pitched voice, for the first time, sounded stupid to her. It's amazing what puberty can do to a boy like Boomer.

"Breaking off my friendship with the guys." His gaze dropped slightly. "I never really liked them, but I kinda realize that defeating them isn't what I want the most. Having them turn to the good side—to be really _good _brothers is what I really want. But it's not possible, so I have to settle for the next best thing."

He looked at her again, and he saw the curiosity that he knew would be there. Why was he telling her this? What message did he want to get through to her?

And then it hit her. This was an ending too.

"I'm sorry, Bubbles."

No. No, no, no, no, no.

He set the brooms up against the wall and started to walk away.

_No. _

"There isn't a next best thing, Boomer!" she cried, wrenching around to look at him leaving her, and she couldn't stop the tears that began to run down her cheeks. "It's you! It has always been _you_! _Why?_" Why? Why did she like him this long? Why not her, when it was only Blossom who just began to feel these emotions that she hadn't yet realized?

As far as Bubbles knew, anyway…

"T-this ending is also a beginning," he said in a constricted voice. "My… _my _feelings…"

He did not need to finish. She did not want him to finish. She knew, she knew what would come next. _Blossom. _

Already, she was bawling, screaming as she clutched her hair and sank to the ground. And Boomer, with much pain, left her there sobbing and hiccupping, trying to contain herself. He did not help. He knew sympathy would not help her get over him.

He walked out and scoured the hallways, expecting to see Blossom strolling in the next one, but he didn't see her. He drifted over to the exit, and there she was, leaning on the wall outside it. He joined her.

"Oh!" she said. "Where's Bubbles?"

"She said she had something to do," he said, shrugging. "She also said to go home without her, and that she'd be there in a jiffy."

"But—"

"Ah, hey you guys!" Buttercup ran up with the speed of a track-runner when she spotted them, and was at their side within seconds despite being a great distance away when she called. She was sweating, but had a huge smile on her face. "Oh, the stuff I gotta tell you… oh, hey, where's Bubbles? I'm starving and wanna go home."

"She had something to d—"

She cut Boomer off. "Ah well, no sense in waiting, she'll be back before long."

And with that, she grabbed the two's elbows and shot off into the sky, leaving three streaks of color behind them.

* * *

Bubbles lay on her side, gasping and hugging herself. Rejection. Somehow that word didn't fit her in this situation.

It was an ending.

But she couldn't make her tears stop. Nor could she stop her feelings.

She had to try, though.

She was so preoccupied with this, the sound of the door creaking open came retarded to her ears.

But when the footsteps came, her heart stopped, and her breathing ceased. The intruder kneeled behind her. Her pupils shrunk in size, so frightened was she. This was not a good aura. Who could it be?

A hand reached out and turned her over. She held her breath to brace her for what was coming—and she came face to face with Butch Jojo, a face she did not expect to see.

She scrambled onto her hands instinctively. "W-what do you want? What are you doing here?"

He stared for a moment. "I should be asking you," he said in reply.

Bubbles braced herself for a fight. _Thank God his brother isn't here, _she thought. _I wouldn't be able to take on them at all. But where _is _the red one?_

"Hey-a, Bubs," he said in his usual coarse voice, which was developed quicker of course, than that of his other two brothers. Despite the casual tone in his accent, however, his green eyes—which glowed a shade brighter than usual—surveyed her poorly braced poise with malice.

Bubbles scowled at the use of a new nickname. On the eve of her first period long ago, Buttercup called her "Blue" as a crude way of designating the miserly demeanor she put up at the time, to which Bubbles retorted with "Greenie the monster". It wasn't a very mature way to approach Buttercup's call of her, but this was a time when Bubbles was her meanest, and also when her pretty round head was reaped of whatever good comebacks that had been stored there. She even continuously called her innocent oldest sister "Red" as if to enlighten her that she was a constant reminder of her pain and misery.

Blossom didn't get it, of course.

"What do you want, Butch?" she said with as much scorn as she could muster with her high-pitched, girly voice, and was inwardly delighted with herself when a suitable thing to say kindled at the tip of her tongue. "I didn't think you liked school so much that you decided to stay so long!"

"It doesn't look like I'm the only one." Okay, so he could say something back too.

But so did she. "Was on duty."

He arched a dark, shapely brow. "For almost over an hour after school?

Bubbles blinked, genuinely surprised. "You can count?"

Butch's left eye twitched with annoyance at her total ease to insult him as if it were a solid fact.

"Anyway, what are you _really_ doing here?" Little Bubbles' guard was down, and she idly dusted off her skirt with an elegant tone of exasperation, one her oldest sister was accustomed to using and could do the best. "Sometimes I even wonder why you can even _stand _a place like a school, even if you were desperate to annoy us."

Another twitch.

"I heard Blossom mention once that you guys had a plan, and were trying to—what was that word again? …Ah! _Infiltrate _through the inside_. _Trick us into letting our guard down and observe us while we're… oh, Blossom came up with a good one. What was it? Ooh, while we're _vulnerable. _But then she let it go when we saw how _stuuupid _you guys were getting along."

More twitching.

"We used to think Boomer was the dumbest of you guys," Bubbles said thoughtfully. She seemed to be speaking to herself now, gyrating a bit from Butch and looking up with a finger beneath her chin. "But golly, were we wrong." Her eyes then narrowed and she peered at Butch from the corner of her eye, a sweet but cynical pout on her lips. The innocence she was so known for seemed to shield her sight from the veins of annoyance bulging beneath Butch's sun kissed skin. "Well, now we know who the dumbest Rowdyruff _really _is."

Boom.

"ALRIGHT, LOOK 'ERE MISSY," he yelled, eyes bulging from their sockets. "_YOU _MUST BE THE DUMBEST ONE TO NOT SEE _MY _SMARTNESS!"

His cool demeanor was completely blown. "Eeeeww, say it, don't spray it!"

For one embarrassed moment he flushed and his hand flew up to his mouth, but he stopped himself. "I-I'LL SAY IT IN WHATEVER WAY I WANT!" was his pitifully constructed answer. His hand snatched up one of her pigtails, which now was half the length of Blossom's waist-length red locks.

"Ow, ow, ow, owww," Bubbles whined as Butch yanked her to him.

"Okay, you, I wanted to have a talk with you, and I _intend _to drill it through your little curly-haired yellow head," he said it through gritted teeth. Stoll, even with the word _intend _in his sentence, he still had a sort of twang in his pronunciation.

Bubbles was not impressed with his enhanced vocabulary, evidently. "You talk like a retard!"

"SHADDAP!"

"GO BACK TO PRESCHOOL! …Oh wait, you've never been there have you!"

"I'M SICK O' YOUR WHINING!"

They continued to bicker like this for a while. Brick was in the hall, leaning with his foot against the wall the behind the open door. He bowed his head over his crossed arms and closed his eyes. He could've joined Butch and perhaps brought a bit of order to the meeting, but he didn't quite feel like intruding at present, and not just because he was tired. Subconsciously, he felt good about there being a blonde to argue with about the place again.

* * *

Bubbles landed with a thud on the pavement, and her knees bucked with the force. She panted on their doorstep.

When she had finally escaped, she'd realized that it was a dark evening sky she'd hurtled upwards into. She flew back as fast as she could without disturbing the families in their homes, halfway past their supper and other preparing their children for bed. A hollow feeling formed itself in the pit of her stomach when she thought of her family and Boomer, who were probably waiting impatiently for her arrival.

Or was the feeling there just because she was hungry?

In any case, by the time she arrived there, she was struggling to regain her composure. She didn't want her outward appearance to contrast with the lie she would tell. But just as she was reaching for the doorknob, the door swung open and an angry-looking Blossom stood before her.

Bubbles fought to break their eye contact. "H-how did you..."

"I heard you land," was Blossom's curt reply. "And where have _you _been?"

"I…"

"Oh, save it," Blossom interrupted, holding up a hand to silence her. Then she turned in one swift movement and walked away as a signal for her youngest sister to follow her into the dining room, her long red hair swishing behind her.

Bubbles tugged off her low-heeled go-go boots, glaring at them as if they were the main source of her misfortune, and tossed them aside. But heaven knew the poison bubbling inside her was not because of her mistake in landing too hastily, but because she was intensely irate with her sister. Still, by the time she had stomped into the dining room in her socked feet, the frown was off her face like mud washed off by running water. Blossom, Buttercup, and the professor were all glaring at her. Boomer's awkward gaze moved uncertainly from his empty plate to the food, from which no heat emanated.

"I'm sorry," she said in a small voice, caressing the fingers of her left hand with the fingers of her right. "…I took my time coming home." Lie One.

"Why did you stay at school so long?" the professor questioned her.

"I just idled… then I lost track of time." Lie Two.

All three members of her family sighed in chorus. Bubbles felt like sighing too, because they believed her story, but instead she held her breath for what was to come.

"Bubbles," the professor said sternly, "this was very irresponsible. I hope that there will be none of this again in the future, as you have distressed us greatly and left supper cold.

_Grooowwl. _Buttercup sweat dropped, but was ignored.

Bubbles swallowed. "Yes, professor," she said in the same small voice.

This time the professor addressed all of his children. "Girls, you are no longer children, but I want an emphasized and relevant reason for every time you come home later than usual while you are still not of age." Then he looked across the table at his two older daughters. "And I want all of you to be responsible if ever one of you goes astray. Is that understood?"

Shamefacedly, they said, "Yes, professor."

The professor turned back to his youngest. "And you, Bubbles? Can you promise not to go astray?"

"Yes, professor." Lie Three.

"GAWD! Can we eat now!"

"For Pete's sake, Buttercup!"

"Yes, you may."

Buttercup immediately began to dig at her food, and Boomer, who began hesitantly, gradually followed suit. Blossom, who ate as civilly as her father, shook her head at Buttercup and continued to mutter.

Only Bubbles picked at her food before moving it hesitantly into her mouth. She winced at ever bite as the acid boiled in her stomach, only this time it wasn't for spite. It was because of guilt.

**Annoying A/N: **Sorry for the late update. I grabbed the opportunity to be obsessed with PPG again during Christmas break. Also, since Bubbles has been having the worst time throughout the fanfic, I decided to make her the main character in this chappie. Of course, you'll have your Blossom back in the next, and now that Boomer is aware of his feelings I'll be cooking up some Blossom/Boomer moments then =D.

_**The poll is up again. Please continue voting!**_

Really, I _do_ think it's strange to have you peeps keep voting for PPLT when TWTK is nearing its end faster than this one. 0_o


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